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Tokaido Main Line

First written July 2024

The Tokaido Main Line is the oldest railway line in Japan, connecting Tokyo and its major metropolitan areas. The Tokaido Main Line has many branches and is still the main Japanese transportation and distribution line.

The first section of the line opened in 1872 and it was expanded in the late 1800s to connect Tokyo and Kobe. Plans to expand the line before the second world war gave birth to the idea of the "bullet train" which evolved into the Tokaido Shinkansen, the first of Japan's shinkansen lines which opened in 1964. In the 1970s the Shinkansen system expanded further west with the Sanyo Shinkansen line, and some trains now run the entire length of the two lines, with the two sections collectively referred to as the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen. In 1987 Japanese National Railways was privatized and different sections are now operated by JR East, JR Central, and JR West.

In the East, Tokyo Station connects the Tokaido lines with many other Shinkansen lines as well as the conventional Tohoku main line. 34 different prefectures can be reached without transferring from trains departing Tokyo Station. The line snakes west along the coast through Tokyo's metropolitan areas, stopping in Nagoya and reaching Kyoto, Osaka, and ending in Kobe where the Sanyo main line begins. The Shinkansen line meets the Sanyo Shinkansen section of the line at Shin-Osaka Station.

Shown here are some of the different Plarail trains I have which represent trains that have run on parts of the Tokaido main line.

Conventional line

Service Class In service	Description	Plarail releases
Tsubame, Hato C-53 (streamlined) 1930-1943	Japan's most prestigious limited express train, first pulled by steam	Tinplate Plarail
Tsubame C-62-2 1951-1956	C-62-2 still bears the headmark of the Swallow express train from when it pulled it in the early 1950s	Sound C62 Double Set
Tokai Express 165 series 1963-1996	Orange and green 120kW D.C. trains on the Tokai service	Tokai Type Train S-34 165 Series Tokai Type Express Train
Dancer "Super View Dancer" 251 series 1990-2020	Double decker train with large windows that operated along parts of the Tokaido	Super View Dancer

Shinkansens

Being the original Shinkansen line, the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen lines have seen every generation of westerly Shinkansen train.

Class In service	Description	Plarail releases
0 Series 1964-1999	The original Shinkansen, painted for decades in classic white with blue stripes	Electric Super Express Hikari Super Express Hikari Hikari Hikari with Light Radio Control Hikari 0 Series Shinkansen
100 Series 1985-2003	"Sharknose" trains with some double-decker cars	New Shinkansen with Light 2-Speed Shinkansen
300 series 1992-2012	Fast new 270km/h Shinkansen for the 1990s	2-Speed Nozomi Doll Play Nozomi
500 series 1997-2010	Beaked shinkansen still in service on the Sanyo line	500 Series Shinkansen
700 series 1999-2020	Flat duck-bill nose Shinkansen that still runs on the Sanyo shinkansen	700 Series Shinkansen S-01 700 Series Shinkansen S-01 700 Series Shinkansen with Light
922 Series "Doctor Yellow" 1972-2005	Line inspection car that runs at speed based on the original Shinkansen trains	Doctor Yellow
955 series "300X" 1994-2002	Experimental Shinkansen to test speeds over 300km/h, holds the 443km/h Japanese speed record	300X Shinkansen

Other Tokaido train toys

With the popularity of the Shinkansen in Japan and its appeal overseas, a great deal of Shinkansen-style trains have been released, with many of them based on the 0 series and other Tokaido-Sanyo shinkansens. Some other popular Tokaido main line trains were also produced in various toy lines

Toy Year	Description	Photograph
Limited Express Tsubame 1979-1980s	151 series Tsubasa train that first ran between Tokyo and Osaka for Tomy's larger-than-Plarail Super Rail system
Mini Mini Rail Hikari 1975	Bandai Mini Mini Rail-series 0 series Shinkansen Hikari, in original non-reversing form
Hikari with Headlights 1980	Super Rail 0 series Shinkansen with working headlights
Tokaido Sanyo New Shinkansen 1985-1990	100 series Shinkansen with reversing gearbox released for Tomy's Super Rail
Train All You Want/Train Unlimited series 1999	100 series Shinkansen for the small and short-lived People Train Unlimited series manufactured by Tomy