San'yō Shinkansen in the context of "Kyushu Shinkansen"

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen (Japanese: 東海道新幹線; lit. 'East coast route, new main line') is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 1964, running between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka, it was the world's first high-speed rail line, and it remains one of the world's busiest. Since 1987, it has been operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), prior to that by Japanese National Railways (JNR).

There are three types of services on the line: from fastest to slowest, they are the limited-stop Nozomi, the semi-fast Hikari, and the all-stop Kodama. Many Nozomi and Hikari trains continue onward to the San'yō Shinkansen, going as far as Fukuoka's Hakata Station. The different services operate at mostly the same speed.

The San'yō Main Line (山陽本線, San'yō-honsen) is a major railway line owned by JR Group companies in western Japan, connecting Kōbe Station and Moji Station, largely paralleling the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, in other words, the southern coast of western Honshu. The San'yō Shinkansen line largely parallels its route. The name Sanyō derived from the ancient region and highway San'yōdō, the road on the sunny (south) side of the mountains.

The Sanyō Main Line is operated by two JR companies:

Shin-Ōsaka Station (Japanese: 新大阪駅, Hepburn: Shin-Ōsaka-eki; lit. 'New Osaka Station') is a major interchange railway station in Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the western terminus of the high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen from Tokyo, the eastern terminus of the San'yō Shinkansen from Fukuoka, and one of the primary rail hubs in Osaka. The two Shinkansen lines are physically connected, allowing many services to operate through between them.

The station opened in 1964 and was built about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the older Ōsaka Station to avoid the engineering challenges of extending the Shinkansen line into the city center. The JR Kyoto Line and the Midōsuji Line subway offer convenient connections to other major destinations throughout central Osaka.

Nozomi (のぞみ; "Wish" or "Hope") is the fastest train service running on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines in Japan. The service stops at only the largest stations, and services using N700 series equipment reach speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph) along the stretch between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata. The trip between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 515 kilometres (320 mi), takes 2 hours 21 minutes on the fastest Nozomi service, with the fastest service between Tokyo Station and Hakata taking 4 hours 45 minutes.

The trains stop at fewer stations than the Hikari and Kodama trains. On the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka, Nozomi trains stop only at Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya and Kyōto. On the Sanyō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, all Nozomi trains stop at Shin-Kobe, Hiroshima, Okayama and Kokura, with certain trains also stopping at additional stations.

Hikari (ひかり; "Light") is a high-speed train service running on the Tōkaidō and San'yō Shinkansen "bullet train" lines in Japan. Slower than the premier Nozomi but faster than the all-stations Kodama, the Hikari is the fastest train service on the Tōkaidō and San'yō Shinkansen that can be used with the Japan Rail Pass, which is not valid for travel on the Nozomi or Mizuho trains except through a special supplementary ticket.

Kodama (こだま; "Echo") is one of the three train services running on the Tōkaidō and San'yō Shinkansen lines.Stopping at every station, the Kodama is the slowest Shinkansen service for trips between major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. The Kodama trains are used primarily for travel to and from smaller cities such as Atami. Travelers between major cities generally take the Nozomi or Hikari services, which make fewer stops, although the Nozomi requires paying a supplement under the Japan Rail Pass while the Kodama does not, making these services an affordable alternative.

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.

33°57′57.4″N 130°57′47.2″E / 33.965944°N 130.963111°E / 33.965944; 130.963111The Shin-Kanmon Tunnel (新関門トンネル, shin-kanmon tonneru) is a 18.713-kilometre (11.628 mi) long undersea railway tunnel under the Kanmon Straits connecting Shin-Shimonoseki Station and Kokura Station.

At the time of opening in March of 1975, it was the longest railway tunnel in Japan before being overtaken by in 1988 the opening of the Seikan Tunnel. It is also the longest tunnel section on the entire Sanyo/Tokaido Shinkansen line.