Tōhoku Shinkansen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tōhoku Shinkansen (東北新幹線) is a high-speed rail line, connecting Tokyo with Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 593 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku Region of Japan's main island Honshū. It has two spur lines, Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen, not shown on the map. The line is operated by East Japan Railway Company.
Contents |
[edit] Timeline
- November 28, 1971: Construction starts on line.
- June 23, 1982: Omiya-Morioka section opens.
- March 14, 1985: Ueno-Omiya section opens.
- June 20, 1991: Tokyo-Ueno section opens.
- October 1998: 1 billionth passenger carried on Tohoku, Joetsu and Nagano Shinkansen lines.
- December 1, 2002: Morioka-Hachinohe section opens.
An extension from Hachinohe to Aomori is under construction and is scheduled for completion around 2010. From Aomori, construction is underway to continue the line under the name Hokkaidō Shinkansen, passing through the world's longest railway tunnel, the Seikan Tunnel to Shin-Hakodate on Hokkaidō, and eventually all the way to Sapporo.
The mountainous terrain that the line passes through has necessitated heavy reliance on tunnels. The Iwate Ichinohe Tunnel on the Morioka-Hachinohe stretch, completed in 2000, was briefly the longest land rail tunnel at 25.8 km, but in 2005 it was superseded by the Hakkoda Tunnel on the extension to Aomori, at 26.5 km. The Lötschberg Base Tunnel in Switzerland has now superseded both.
[edit] Trains
There are currently three types of trains in operation:
- Hayate, Tokyo-Hachinohe express, starting December 2002
- Yamabiko, Tokyo-Sendai express, then local to Morioka, starting June 1982
- Nasuno, Tokyo-Koriyama local, starting 1995
One train has been discontinued:
- Aoba, Tokyo - Sendai local, June 1982 - October 1997 (consolidated with Nasuno)
Through trains on the Akita Shinkansen and Yamagata Shinkansen lines also run on Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks from Morioka and Fukushima respectively.
[edit] List of stations
[edit] External links
| Shinkansen |  |
|---|---|
| Lines: Tōkaidō • Sanyō • Tōhoku • Jōetsu • Hokuriku • Kyushu
Mini-Shinkansen: Yamagata • Akita • Future lines: Chuo • Hokkaido • Cancelled lines: Narita Trainsets: 0 Series • 100 Series • 200 Series • 300 Series • 400 Series • 500 Series • 700 Series • 800 Series • E1 Series • E2 Series • E3 Series • E4 Series • Export trainsets: 700T Series • CRH2 • Future trainsets: N700 Series • FASTECH 360 |
