Nagano Shinkansen
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The is a high-speed
Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...
railway line jointly operated by
East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
(JR East) and
West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
(JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the
Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...
of Japan. The first section, between and in
Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...
, opened on 1 October 1997, originally called the (Takasaki is linked to Tokyo by the
Jōetsu Shinkansen The is a high-speed shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo and Niigata, Japan, via the Tōhoku Shinkansen, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Despite its name, the line does not pass through the city of Joetsu or the hist ...
). The extension to in
Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...
and in
Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
opened on 14 March 2015. Construction of a further section onward to and in
Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...
commenced in 2012, with scheduled opening in Spring 2024. The route of the final section to Shin-Osaka was decided on 20 December 2016 as the Osaka–Kyoto route, with construction expected to begin in 2030 and take 15 years.


Train names and service patterns

Since March 2015, services on the line are split into four types, with train names as listed below. Trains operate over the Joetsu and Tohoku Shinkansen tracks between Tokyo and Takasaki. * ''
Kagayaki The is a high-speed ''shinkansen'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced o ...
'': Tokyo–Kanazawa, limited-stop service, since 14 March 2015 * ''
Hakutaka The is a high-speed ''shinkansen'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced on ...
'': Tokyo–Kanazawa, mostly all-stations service, since 14 March 2015 * '' Tsurugi'': Toyama–Kanazawa, all-stations shuttle service, since 14 March 2015 * '' Asama'': Tokyo–Nagano, mostly all-stations service, corresponding to existing Nagano Shinkansen service introduced in 1997 The original Nagano Shinkansen ''Asama'' services, introduced in 1997, replaced the conventional
Shin'etsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . ...
limited express services, also named ''Asama'', which previously took 2 hours 50 minutes from Tokyo (
Ueno Station is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other fam ...
) to Nagano. Following the opening of the Shinkansen, part of the conventional line was abandoned between Yokokawa and Karuizawa. This section included the steeply-graded
Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano and Gunma prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsandō highway was des ...
which required the use of bank engines on all trains.


Stations

Legend: * The boundary between
JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
and
JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
lies immediately to the north of
Jōetsumyōkō Station is an interchange railway station in Jōetsu, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the third-sector railway operator Echigo Tokimeki Railway. It opened in March 2015. Lines ...
. * Stations in italics are not currently operational.


Notes

As of 2012, the maximum line speed is between Tokyo and Omiya, between Omiya and Takasaki, and between Takasaki and Nagano.


Rolling stock

*
E7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. It a ...
12-car "F" sets" (since 15 March 2014) *
W7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. I ...
12-car "W" sets" (since 14 March 2015) With the start of Nagano Shinkansen services, trains were operated by a new fleet of JR East
E2 series The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokurik ...
8-car sets. A fleet of 17 new
E7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. It a ...
12-car trainsets were phased in from March 2014, and these were augmented by a fleet of 10 JR West
W7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. I ...
12-car sets introduced from March 2015. The fleet of W7 series was purchased at a cost of ¥32.8 billion. The remaining E2 series trainsets were withdrawn from Hokuriku Shinkansen services on 31 March 2017. In 2019, ten trains, eight from JR East with a book value of ¥11.8 billion and two from JR West, were damaged when a train yard in
Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...
was flooded as the Chikuma River overflowed during
typhoon Hagibis Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Typhoon No.19 or , was a large and costly tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction in Japan. The thirty-eighth depression, ninth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, ...
. As a result, JR West suffered a loss of ¥3 billion. File:Series-E7-F19.jpg, E7 series set F19 on an ''Asama'' service in February 2021


Former rolling stock

*
E2 series The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokurik ...
8-car "N" sets on Tokyo - Nagano ''Asama'' services only *
E2 series The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokurik ...
8-car "J" sets *
E4 series The was a high-speed shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. They were the second series of completely bi-level Shinkansen trainsets to be built in Japan (the other being the E1 series). They previousl ...
8-car "P50/P80" sets as ''Max Asama'' * 200 series 12-car set F80 during February 1998 only The original
E2 series The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokurik ...
8-car "J" sets, primarily used on Tohoku Shinkansen services were also used on some ''Asama'' services until they were subsequently lengthened to 10 cars. One specially-modified 200 series set, numbered F80, was used on additional ''Asama'' services in February 1998 during the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
held in Nagano. The train was modified to operate on both 25 kV AC 50 Hz and 60 Hz overhead power supplies, incorporated weight-saving measures to comply with the 16 tonne axle load restriction, and included additional control equipment to cope with the 30
Per mille (from Latin , "in each thousand") is an expression that means parts per thousand. Other recognised spellings include per mil, per mill, permil, permill, or permille. The associated sign is written , which looks like a percent si ...
gradient of the Nagano Shinkansen. Its maximum speed was limited to . The last services operated using eight-car E2 series trainsets ran on 31 March 2017, from which date all ''Asama'' services were formed of E7 and W7 series trainsets. File:N11 Asama 514 Tokyo 20020601.jpg, A Nagano Shinkansen E2 series "N" set, June 2002 File:E2 J6 Asama Karuizawa 19980218.jpg, A Nagano Shinkansen E2 series "J" set approaching , February 1998 File:Shinkansen E4series (4467135007).jpg, An E4 series set File:200 F80 Asama Ueda 19980218.jpg, Modified set F80 on a Nagano Shinkansen ''Asama'' service, February 1998


History


Nagano Shinkansen

The initial section between Takasaki and Nagano opened on 1 October 1997, in time for the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
in Nagano. Between May 2012 and March 2014, station platforms on the Nagano Shinkansen had their platform roofs extended to handle the
E7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. It a ...
12-car trains which entered service in March 2014 ahead of the March 2015 opening of the extension beyond Nagano. The Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Nagano to opened in March 2015. The 113-km extension from Kanazawa to Tsuruga was approved for construction in June 2012. From the start of the revised timetable on 15 March 2014, E7 series trainsets were introduced on ''Asama'' services. Initially used on seven return services daily, this number was increased to eleven return services daily from 19 April 2014.


Naming

The line's legal name has always been Hokuriku Shinkansen. However, just before the opening of the Nagano section, JR East has decided that using this name in passenger service is to be avoided. From March 22, 1997 until the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa, the primary route for Hokuriku customers (from the Tokyo area) is to use the Joetsu Shinkansen to
Echigo-Yuzawa Station is a railway station operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), located in the resort town of Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The station is located from . Lines Echigo-Yuzawa Station is serviced by the following lines: * JR East ...
, then transfer to
Hakutaka The is a high-speed ''shinkansen'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced on ...
via the
Hokuetsu Express The is a Japanese railway line in Niigata Prefecture that runs from Muikamachi in Minamiuonuma City to Saigata in Jōetsu City. It is the sole railway line operated by . Construction of the line first began in 1968 by the Japanese National ...
, rendering using the Takasaki–Nagano section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen meaningless for them. Therefore, JR East sought other names. On the other hand, local governments in Hokuriku, fearing construction west of Nagano may be halted, petitioned that the name "Hokuriku" should remain in use for operational purposes. JR East announced the following solution at July 25, 1997: *Voice announcements using "Nagano Shinkansen" *Tokyo area stations using depictions with "Nagano-''bound'' Shinkansen". *Stations between Annaka-Haruna Station and Nagano Station depicting "Shinkansen" only. Soon, "Nagano-''bound'' Shinkansen" fell out of use, and timetables by various publishers use "Nagano Shinkansen" only. Construction to Kanazawa was officially decided, thereby reducing the opposition to the name.


Extension beyond Nagano

Construction of the extension from Nagano to Kanazawa was completed on 24 May 2014. When services commenced in March 2015, the travel time from Tokyo to Toyama was reduced to about 2 hours, with Kanazawa an additional 30 minutes away. Final permission to start construction to Fukui was granted in December 2011, with modification works to Fukui Station already in progress for several years in anticipation of the extension. The extension to Tsuruga was approved for construction on 30 June 2012, and is scheduled to open in fiscal 2024. Beyond Jōetsumyōkō Station, the line is operated by
West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
(JR West) instead of
East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
(JR East).


Naming issue rises again

Many people speculated about and discussed what the line's operational name should be after Nagano–Kanazawa section is completed. Nagano economic associations argued a sudden change in name will confuse customers, propose "Nagano–Hokuriku Shinkansen" to be used. In contrast government officials and economic associations in Hokuriku region defended the legal name, including statements such as "a just result should come after 3 prefectures striving for 40 years". Section west of Jōetsumyōkō belongs to JR West, which did not state an opinion and used "Hokuriku Shinkansen" only. On October 2, 2013, JR East announced formal line name will be Hokuriku Shinkansen (consistent with National Shinkansen Railway Development Act) and depicted as Hokuriku Shinkansen (via Nagano), resolving the naming issue.


Test-running

Test-running on the JR East section of the line between Nagano and Kurobe-Unazukionsen commenced on 1 December 2013, initially at low speeds using the " East i" test train. From 6 December, test-running commenced using 10-car
E2 series The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokurik ...
trainsets, with running speeds gradually increased to the full line speed of . Test-running continued until the end of March 2014. Test-running on the entire line between Nagano and Kanazawa (Hakusan Depot) started on 1 August 2014, using the "East i" test train. Test-running using W7 series trains commenced on 5 August 2014, initially at low speed, on the JR West section between and .


Future plans

The route of the final section from to was finalized on 20 December 2016 as the 'Obama–Kyoto' route. The following four options were under consideration, with a fifth unofficial option suggested by a local politician. # : This involved building a full standard shinkansen track to
Maibara Station is an interchange passenger railway station located in the city of Maibara, Shiga, Japan. On the border between West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), it is jointly operated by both companies, alon ...
. It was one third of the length of the Obama Route, and provided good access to both Kyoto and Nagoya. It would have resulted in longer travel time to Osaka than the other options, and trains would have had to use the existing, already near-capacity
Tokaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...
tracks between Maibara and Shin-Osaka. # : This involved no new track construction; instead, this proposal would have upgraded the
Kosei Line The is a commuter rail line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from the Kansai region t ...
to , either by regauging or dual-gauging the line to support Mini-Shinkansen, or alternatively utilising
Gauge Change Train The Gauge Change Train (GCT) or is the name given to a Japanese project started in 1994 to develop a high-speed train with variable gauge axles to allow inter-running between the Shinkansen network, and the narrow gauge regional rail network. ...
(GCT) operations. This was the cheapest option, but meant train speeds would likely be limited to a maximum of and hence travel times would have been longer than the other options. # : First proposed in 1973, this route involved building a full standard shinkansen track via and . It was the shortest route to Osaka, but also the most expensive (approximately 1 trillion yen), and would have bypassed . # : This, the now selected route, was first made public in August 2015, and involves following the proposed Obama Route west as far as Obama and then building shinkansen track southward to link with the Tokaido Shinkansen at . Including Kyoto on the route is seen as important to increase tourism. # : Kyoto politician,
Shoji Nishida is a conservative Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). He was born in Kyoto Prefecture on 19 September 1958, graduated from Shiga University in 1981, beca ...
's proposal from Tsuruga, via Obama, to Maizuru then south-east to Kyoto, eastern Osaka and Kansai Airport. This option was uncosted but would have been the most expensive due to the scale of the proposal. Its case was to provide development to the Maizuru region as per the Japanese national government's policy, with the Maizuru Maritime Self-Defence Force Base and several nuclear power stations put forward as reasonable traffic generators. The option to extend the line south of Kyoto to a new Osaka station (located to the south east of Osaka) and onwards to
Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and ...
was seen as a means to avoid the congestion of the Tokaido line. It may have served as an alternative route or terminus to Shin-Osaka station for Tokaido line trains, reducing Tokaido line congestion. A government committee deliberating the proposals decided in April 2016 to narrow the proposed route to three alignments between and and two alignments between Kyoto and (a northern route through
Minoh is a city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its name is commonly romanized as "Minō" or "Minoo"; however, the city government officially uses the spelling Minoh in English. As of October 2016, the city has an estimated population of 134 ...
and a southern route through the
Kansai Science City is an unincorporated city located in the , a border region between Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara Prefectures in Kansai region, Japan. The name is commonly shortened to or . The name Keihanna is constructed by extracting a representative kanji from Kyo ...
). On 6 March 2017 the government committee announced the chosen route from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka is to be via Kyotanabe, with a station at Matsuiyamate on the
Katamachi Line The , officially nicknamed the , is a commuter rail line and service in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area of Japan, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Kizu Station (Kyoto), Kizu Station in Kyoto P ...
. There had previously been discussion of routing the line to , a major terminal in southeast Osaka, which would allow an extension of the line to .


Interim plans

In an attempt to extend the benefits of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to stations west of Tsuruga before the section to Shin-Osaka is completed, JR West was working in partnership with Talgo on the development of a
Gauge Change Train The Gauge Change Train (GCT) or is the name given to a Japanese project started in 1994 to develop a high-speed train with variable gauge axles to allow inter-running between the Shinkansen network, and the narrow gauge regional rail network. ...
(GCT), which was proposed to be capable of operating under both the 25 kV AC electrification used on the Shinkansen and the 1.5 kV DC system employed on conventional lines. The six-car train was due to start trials on the Hokuriku Shinkansen and the 1067 mm-gauge Hokuriku and Kosei lines in 2017. As part of the project JR West had begun trials with a purpose-built 180 m-long gauge-changer at Tsuruga. However, as a result of the abandonment of the proposed use of a GCT on the West Kyushu Shinkansen to Nagasaki by JR Kyushu, in August 2018 JR West announced that the proposed GCT between Tsuruga and Osaka had been abandoned.


Conventional lines running parallel to the Hokuriku Shinkansen

With the opening of the initial Nagano Shinkansen section in October 1997, the section of the conventional (
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
)
Shinetsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . S ...
running along approximately the same route between and was transferred from the control of JR East to a newly established third-sector railway operating company,
Shinano Railway The is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 1996 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line within Nagano Prefecture when it is separated from the JR East network in Octob ...
, becoming the
Shinano Railway Line The is a 65.1 km railway line operated by the third-sector railway operating company Shinano Railway in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It connects Karuizawa Station in Karuizawa with Shinonoi Station in Nagano. Overview Before October 19 ...
. With the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension north of Nagano on 14 March 2015, the conventional lines running along approximately the same route were transferred from the control of their respective JR owning companies to newly established third-sector railway operating companies funded primarily by the prefectural and municipal governments through which the lines pass. A total of of route between Nagano and Kanazawa was transferred to four separate operating companies, including of the
Shinetsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . S ...
between Nagano and , and of the
Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...
between Naoetsu and Kanazawa. Details of the four third-sector operating companies and their respective lines are as shown below.


References


External links


JR East website

JR West website




{{Authority control Railway lines opened in 1997 Lines of East Japan Railway Company Lines of West Japan Railway Company High-speed railway lines in Japan Standard gauge railways in Japan 1997 establishments in Japan 25 kV AC railway electrification