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The '''{{nihongo|Kyūshū Shinkansen|九州新幹線}}''' is a Japanese high-speed railway line between the Japanese cities of [[Fukuoka]] and [[Kagoshima]] in [[Kyushu]], running parallel to the existing [[Kagoshima Main Line]] and operated by the [[Kyushu Railway Company]] (JR Kyushu). The southern 127 km opened on 13 March 2004. The northern 130 km section opened on 12 March 2011, although opening ceremonies were canceled due to the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]]. The construction of a spur from [[Shin-Tosu Station|Shin-Tosu]] to [[Nagasaki]], approximately 118 km in length, began in 2008.
==Kagoshima Route==
Construction of the {{nihongo|'''Kagoshima Route'''|鹿児島ルート}} began in 1991, and the first segment between Kagoshima and [[Yatsushiro]] opened on 13 March 2004. This initial section cut travel times between the two cities from 130 minutes to 35 minutes, and reduced the time between Hakata and Kagoshima from 4 hours to just 2 hours. When the entire line was completed, the travel time from Hakata to Kagoshima was further reduced to about an hour and 20 minutes. Like the original [[Shinkansen]] lines, the Kyushu Shinkansen is [[standard gauge]].
The line's ''[[Sakura (train)|Sakura]]'' and ''[[Mizuho (train)|Mizuho]]'' services operate through to [[Shin-Osaka Station]] via the [[Sanyō Shinkansen]].
In September 2011, six months after the line's completion, JR Kyushu reported a year-over-year increase in ridership of 64 percent to the southern part of Kyushu (between Kumamoto and Kagoshima), easily surpassing the 40 percent increase projected by the company. However, in northern Kyushu, where there is fierce competition with conventional JR rapid service, the private [[Nishi-Nippon Railroad]], and expressway buses, Shinkansen ridership increased by only 38 percent (compared to the now-discontinued conventional express ''Relay Tsubame''), falling short of estimates.
== Nagasaki (West Kyushu) Route ==
A Shinkansen line from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, initially known as the '''{{nihongo|Nagasaki Shinkansen|長崎新幹線}}''', was laid out in the 1973 Basic Plan. Renamed as the '''{{nihongo|Nagasaki Route|長崎ルート}}''', then changed to the '''{{nihongo|West Kyushu Route|西九州ルート|Nishi Kyūshū rūto}}''' in 1995, the planning of the line has been slowed down by concerns over the necessity of duplicating the existing narrow-gauge [[Nagasaki Main Line]] and [[Sasebo Line]] between Shin-Tosu and [[Takeo-Onsen Station|Takeo-Onsen]], and local opposition over the final section in Nagasaki city.
{{As of|2009}}, the current plan is to continue using the existing track from Shin-Tosu to Takeo-Onsen and build new [[narrow gauge]] ''[[Super Tokkyū]]'' track from Takeo-Onsen to Nagasaki, with trains operating at a maximum speed of 200 km/h. This is expected to allow a travel time of around 1 hour 24 minutes between the two cities, versus 1 hour 45 minutes currently. If [[Gauge Change Train]]s are operated, the time will be cut to 1 hour 19 minutes, and if the entire route is converted to Shinkansen track, travel time will be just 41 minutes.
Construction of the first 45.7 km segment between Takeo-Onsen and [[Isahaya Station|Isahaya]] began on 28 April 2008. No decision has yet been made on whether the remaining distance of 20.3 km to Nagasaki will use existing tracks or whether a new dedicated Shinkansen track will be built. The tentative completion date is 2018.
== Other planned routes ==
According to the Shinkansen Basic Plan laid out in 1973, the Kagoshima and West Kyushu (Nagasaki) routes would be accompanied by two other routes: the '''East Kyushu Shinkansen''', also from Hakata to Kagoshima-chūō, but passing through [[Ōita, Ōita|Ōita]] and [[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]], paralleling the [[Nippō Main Line]]; and the '''Trans-Kyushu Shinkansen''', linking [[Kumamoto Station|Kumamoto]] and [[Ōita, Ōita|Ōita]], and connecting with the also-planned '''Shikoku Shinkansen''' to [[Matsuyama, Ehime|Matsuyama]], [[Takamatsu, Kagawa|Takamatsu]] and [[Osaka]]. These plans have been shelved indefinitely, and are unlikely to be reconsidered until the completion of Shinkansen lines already under construction.
== Station list ==
All trains stop at stations marked "●", while some trains stop at those marked "△".
{| class="wikitable" rules="all"
|-
! style="width:10em; border-bottom:3px solid red;" | Station
! style="width:6em; border-bottom:3px solid red;" | Japanese
! style="width:2.5em; border-bottom:3px solid red;" | Distance (km)
! style="width:2.5em; border-bottom:3px solid red;" | Distance from Shin-Ōsaka (km)
! style="border-bottom:3px solid red;" | ''Mizuho''
! style="border-bottom:3px solid red;" | ''Sakura''
! style="border-bottom:3px solid red;" | Transfers
! style="border-bottom:3px solid red;" colspan=2 | Location
|-
| colspan=9 |
|-
! colspan=9 | Kagoshima Route
|-
| colspan=9 align=center | '''Currently operational'''
|-
| [[Hakata Station|Hakata]] || 博多 || align=right | 0.0 || align=right | 553.7 || align=center | ● || align=center | ● ||[[Kūkō Line (Fukuoka City Subway)]]
[[Fukuhoku Yutaka Line]], [[Hakata-Minami Line]], [[Kagoshima Main Line]]
[[Sanyō Shinkansen]] (through service) || [[Hakata-ku, Fukuoka]]|| [[Fukuoka Prefecture|Fukuoka]]
|-
| [[Shin-Tosu Station|Shin-Tosu]][New station constructed for Shinkansen.] || 新鳥栖 || align=right | 26.3 || align=right | 580.0 || ||align=center | △ ||[[Nagasaki Main Line]] || [[Tosu, Saga|Tosu]]|| [[Saga Prefecture|Saga]]
|-
| [[Kurume Station|Kurume]] || 久留米 || align=right | 32.0 || align=right | 585.7 || ||align=center | △ || Kagoshima Main Line, [[Kyūdai Main Line]] || [[Kurume, Fukuoka|Kurume]] || rowspan=3 | Fukuoka
|-
| [[Chikugo-Funagoya Station|Chikugo-Funagoya]] || 筑後船小屋 || align=right | 47.9 ||align=right | 601.6 || ||align=center | △ || Kagoshima Main Line || [[Chikugo, Fukuoka|Chikugo]]
|-
| [[Shin-Ōmuta Station|Shin-Ōmuta]]
[[Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau|Kumamoto City Tram]] (Kumamoto-Ekimae) || [[Kumamoto, Kumamoto|Kumamoto]]
|-
| [[Shin-Yatsushiro Station|Shin-Yatsushiro]]
[[Kagoshima Main Line]] || [[Satsumasendai, Kagoshima|Satsumasendai]]
|-
| [[Kagoshima-Chūō Station|Kagoshima-Chūō]] || 鹿児島中央 || align=right | 256.8 || align=right | 810.5 || align=center | ● || align=center | ● ||[[Ibusuki Makurazaki Line]], Kagoshima Main Line
[[Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau|Kagoshima City Tram]] (Kagoshima-Chūō-Ekimae) || [[Kagoshima, Kagoshima|Kagoshima]]
|-
| colspan=9 align=center |
|-
! colspan=9 | Nishi-Kyūshū Route (Nagasaki Route)
|-
| colspan=9 align=center | '''On hold'''
|-
| Shin-Tosu ||新鳥栖 || || || || || || Tosu || rowspan=2 | Saga
|-
| [[Saga Station|Saga]] || 佐賀 || || || || ||[[Karatsu Line]], [[Nagasaki Main Line]], [[Sasebo Line]] || [[Saga, Saga|Saga]]
|-
| colspan=9 align=center | '''Under construction, scheduled for completion c. 2018'''
|-
| [[Takeo-Onsen Station|Takeo-Onsen]] || 武雄温泉 || || || || ||[[Sasebo Line]] || [[Takeo, Saga|Takeo]] || rowspan=2 | Saga
|-
| [[Ureshino-Onsen Station|Ureshino-Onsen]][Tentative name] || 嬉野温泉 || || || || || || [[Ureshino, Saga|Ureshino]]
|-
| [[Shin-Ōmura Station|Shin-Ōmura]]
[[Shimabara Railway Line]] || [[Isahaya, Nagasaki|Isahaya]]
|-
| colspan=9 align=center | '''Planned'''
|-
| [[Nagasaki Station (Nagasaki)|Nagasaki]] || 長崎 || || || || ||Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line
[[Nagasaki Electric Tramway]] (Nagasaki-Ekimae) || [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] || Nagasaki
|-
|}
{{reflist|group="*"}}
==Services==
Services are operated by 6-car [[800 Series Shinkansen|800 Series]] sets, with a maximum speed of {{convert|260|km/h|mph}}. The trains were developed by [[Hitachi]], and based on the 700 series trains already in service on the Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen line.
Individual trains are named ''[[Tsubame (train)|Tsubame]]'' ("Swallow"), the name of the former Hakata-Kagoshima [[limited express]] service. 8-car [[N700 Series Shinkansen|N700-7000 and N700-8000 series]] trains are on order by the JR West and JR Kyushu for use on through-running services between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō from 2011. The first set (S1) was delivered to Hakata Depot in October 2008.
Three services operate on the line, in order of speed: ''[[Mizuho (train)|Mizuho]]'', ''[[Sakura (train)|Sakura]]'', and ''[[Tsubame (train)|Tsubame]]''. The ''Mizuho'' makes two return trips between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō during the morning hours, and two return trips during the evening, with an end-to-end journey time of 3 hours 45 minutes. ''Sakura'' services run once per hour throughout the day between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō making additional stops, with an end-to-end travel time of 4 hours 10 minutes. There are also one to two ''Sakura'' services every hour between Hakata and either Kumamoto or Kagoshima-Chūō. ''Tsubame'' trains operate the all-stations service between Hakata and Kumamoto 1-2 times per hour, with some services operating to/from Kagoshima-Chūō.
==External links==
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