Japan Railways companies across the country have released their updated train schedules that will begin on March 16, with new rail sections and new trains debuting.
The timetables unveiled on December 15 state that the Kagayaki and Hakutaka bullet trains will make a total of 14 trips daily between Tokyo and Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture along the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, marking the opening of a new section connecting Tsuruga with Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture. .
Traveling from Tokyo to Tsuruga will take three hours and eight minutes, or 50 minutes faster than the current route, which requires passengers to switch to an ordinary express train.
The first train departing from Tokyo is at 6:16 am The last inbound train from Tsuruga to Tokyo will be at 8:11 pm.
The new E8 Tsubasa series train will also make its debut on the Yamagata Shinkansen line.
This means the maximum speed of Tsubasa trains running along the route will increase from 275 kph to 300 kph, helping riders reach Yamagata from Tokyo in 2 hours and 22 minutes – four minutes faster than today.
The Joetsu Shinkansen Line will send the last outbound trains to Niigata and Takasaki 20 minutes earlier each day in hopes of securing more time at night for construction work.
The Tokaido Shinkansen Line will have an extra Nozomi train for Tokyo at 9:30 pm, or six minutes after the last normal daily run, from Shin-Osaka during busy times. Another outbound Hikari train also stops at Shizuoka, Hamamatsu and Toyohashi stations after 7pm.
SOUTH, WESTERN JAPAN
Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) announced the Mizuho train No. 603 that will leave Shin-Osaka for Kagoshima-Chuo Station at 7:23 am will make another stop at Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture along the Kyushu Shinkansen Line.
The decision came considering the level of travel demand around Kurume. The company aims to increase the total number of inbound and outbound runs from Mizuho to Kurume from the current six to seven.
Four additional local and rapid transit trains will be introduced during peak hours for passengers on the Kagoshima Line and the Fukuhoku Yutaka Line around Fukuoka.
The change was added now that ridership is recovering after COVID-19 was downgraded to Category 5 – the same level as seasonal flu – under the infectious disease prevention law.
The transport capacity is projected to be 9 percent during the morning hours and 5 percent in the evening hours.
On the other hand, two runs for the Hyuga express train in Miyazaki Prefecture on the Nippo Line and elsewhere will be eliminated.
Of the two journeys to Miyazaki Station now available at Nobeoka Station between 6 am and 8 am, the one that departs before 7 am is expected to be completed. A trip from Minami-Miyazaki to Nobeoka late at night will also be cut, ending the last daily run at 11:19 pm.
West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) will push back the departure time of the final daily train from Hakata to Tokyo from 6:59 pm by one minute on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines.
It will be the first time that the last run of each day will be from 7pm or later since the road opened. The final train left Hakata at 6:25 pm in 2003, and the timing was pushed back in stages.
More trains from the newest N700S Shinkansen series will stop at Hakata and Kokura to increase the total number of arrivals from two a day to 24, as their improved charging capabilities and specialized wheelchair spaces may help attract more customers
(This article was compiled from reports by Ayateru Hosozawa and Ryo Ikeda.)
PHOTO CAPTION
(1) An E7 series train running on the Hokuriku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines (provided by East Japan Railway Co.)
(2) The last train of the E8 series will debut along the Yamagata Shinkansen line. (Provided by East Japan Railway Co.)
(3) An N700 series train that West Japan Railway Co. used for the Sanyo Shinkansen Line (provided by West Japan Railway Co.)
