A new £33.27 billion train line is underway, set to connect millions of people. The Chūō Shinkansen is a Japanese train line under construction between Tokyo and Nagoya, with plans to extend it to Osaka. The initial section is between Shinagawa Station in Tokyo and Nagoya Station in Nagoya, with stations in Sagamihara, Kōfu, Iida and Nakatsugawa. Following the completion of the Tokyo–Nagoya line, the line will extend to stations in Mie, Nara and Osaka. The line will have one station for each area it passes through.
It is expected to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in 40 minutes, and eventually Tokyo and Osaka in 67 minutes, running at a maximum speed of 314 mph. About 90% of the 178-mile line to Nagoya will be in tunnels. Government permission to proceed with construction was granted in 2011. Construction is expected to cost over ¥9 trillion Japanese yen (approximately £33.27 billion) and commenced in 2014.
The start date of commercial service is unknown, following Shizuoka Prefecture’s denial of permission for construction work on a portion of the route in June 2020.
Construction delays meant that, in 2025, opening was pushed back to no earlier than 2035. The Nagoya–Osaka section was planned to be completed as late as 2045, but the date was moved to as early as 2037 following a loan from the Japanese government.
The line’s route passes through many sparsely populated areas in the Japanese Alps (Akaishi Mountains), but is more direct than the current Tōkaidō Shinkansen route.
The time saved through a more direct route was a more important criterion to JR Central than having stations at intermediate population centres.
Also, the more heavily populated Tōkaidō route is congested, and the new line providing an alternative route if the Tōkaidō Shinkansen were to be blocked by earthquake damage was also considered.
Japan is well known for its Shinkansen train system, which has been in operation since 1964. Its Maglev bullet trains are the fastest in the world, using magnetic repulsion to make the train ‘float’.
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