October 1, 1957 marks the first on-board public train telephone service, introduced by Kinki Railways. This service is later added to Japan National Railways trains beginning August 20, 1960, on eight 'Kodama' and 'Tsubame' limited express trains making daily runs between Tokyo and Osaka on the Tokaido Main line with calling service limited to "red phones" within the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka metropoitan subscriber areas. Telephone service from the high-speed Shinkansen trains is introduced in 1965.

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