Kyushu Shinkansen in the context of "Sanyō Shinkansen"

The Gauge Change Train (GCT) or Free Gauge Train (フリーゲージトレイン; "FGT") is the name given to a Japanese project started in 1994 to develop a high-speed train with variable gauge axles to allow inter-running between the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge Shinkansen network, and the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge regional rail network.

Two three-car and one four-car "GCT" electric multiple unit (EMU) trains have been built for testing. The first train operated from 1998 until 2006, the second train operated from 2006 until 2014 and the third-generation train commenced testing in 2014, although testing is currently suspended due to technical issues with the bogies. The GCT was due to be introduced on the Nagasaki Shinkansen upon its opening in 2022, but JR Kyushu announced in June 2017 that it had abandoned plans to adopt the GCT for these services.

Hakata Station (博多駅, Hakata-eki) is a major railway station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the largest and busiest railway terminal in Kyushu, and is a gateway to other cities in Kyushu for travelers coming from Honshu by rail travel. The San'yō Shinkansen from Osaka ends at this station.

The station was rebuilt in 2011. The main building was demolished and a new, larger station building, as well as office buildings and new platforms, was constructed. The station reconstruction project was initiated specifically for the Kyushu Shinkansen extension from Hakata to Shin-Yatsushiro Station which continues southward through its existing route to Kagoshima-Chūō Station. The new station building has a Hankyu Department Store, its first branch store in Kyushu, as a tenant, as well as other first-in-Kyushu branch retailers including Tokyu Hands.