Shinkansen

The Shinkansen is a network of high speed rail lines in Japan, upon which the famous "Bullet Trains" run. The name "Bullet Train" is actually a Western invention, originating from the bullet nosed appearance of the original trains. They are known in Japan as Shinkansen trains. The name Shinkansen literally means "New Trunk Line", and thus technically should refer to the lines and not the trains, which are officially referred to as "Super Expresses".

Japan was the first country to construct dedicated railway lines for high speed travel.