As of 18 March 2023[update] the following train types operate on Jōetsu Shinkansen services.

The program to build the new line was initiated in 1971 by Niigata-born prime minister Tanaka Kakuei; one popular anecdote is that Tanaka determined the line's routing by drawing it on a map with a red pencil.

In September 1991, a 400 Series Shinkansen train set a Japanese rail speed record of 345 km/h (214 mph) on the Jōetsu Shinkansen line, and in December 1993, the STAR21 experimental train recorded 425 km/h (264 mph).

While some land acquisitions along the existing Saikyō Line were made, no construction ever started.

[citation needed] The entire line was upgraded to 275 km/h (171 mph), with construction starting in May 2019, and finished in 2023.

[14] Also on 17 November 2012, a special Joetsu Shinkansen 30th Anniversary (上越新幹線開業30周年号, Jōetsu Shinkansen Kaigyō 30-shūnen-gō) service ran from Niigata to Tokyo using E5 series set U8, with a special ceremony at Niigata Station before departure.