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Witness History: Japan's Bullet Train

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Japan's Bullet Train

26/07/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Japan's Bullet Train

Japanese railways launched the fastest train the world had ever seen in October 1964

Japanese railways launched the fastest train the world had ever seen in October 1964, just a week before the Tokyo Olympics got underway.

On 1 October 1964, the fastest train the world had ever seen was launched in Japan. The first Shinkansen, or bullet train, ran between Tokyo and Osaka, and had a top speed of 210km per hour. Lucy Burns spoke to Isao Makibayashi, one of the train's first drivers.

This is a rebroadcast

(Photo: Shinkansen, or bullet train. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

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