The sole reason why Shinkansen plying the Tokaido route make money is the sheer density and affluence of the customers they serve.

ECONOMIST: High-speed trains

Put it this way: the Shinkansen plying the Tokaido route have access to some 180, 000 potential passengers per mile of high-speed track.

ECONOMIST: High-speed trains

Having worked for many years in Tokyo, with family in Osaka, your correspondent has made the two-and-a-half hour journey on the Tokaido bullet-train many times.

ECONOMIST: High-speed trains