East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) is considering a maximum travel speed of 320 kph in the section between Morioka and Shin-Aomori stations on the Tohoku Shinkansen line, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
It would be the first time for the maximum travel speed, which is currently 260 kph, to be raised in a section for a new Shinkansen line.
Aiming to cut the construction costs for new Shinkansen lines, the maximum design speed of bullet trains has been limited to 260 kph under a new Shinkansen line construction plan based on the Nationwide Shinkansen Railway Development Law.
If bullet trains can run at a speed of 320 kph in the section between Morioka and Shin-Aomori, the travel time between Tokyo Station and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hokkaido is expected to be reduced by about 10 minutes. JR East is aiming to compete with airline services, eyeing the extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen line -- which is connected to the Tohoku Shinkansen line -- to Sapporo scheduled for fiscal 2030.
The main bullet trains operated by JR East have already run at 320 kph between Utsunomiya and Morioka stations. These trains are therefore capable of traveling at an increased speed.
According to sources connected to JR, if Shinkansen trains run at 260 kph or faster between Morioka and Shin-Aomori stations, there would be few facility-related problems in terms of strength.
What would be necessary are measures for noise prevention. As noise grows louder in keeping with higher speeds, it is essential to heighten noise prevention walls and improve facilities at the ends of tunnels.
Facilities for new Shinkansen lines are owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT). Therefore, a speed increase requires JR East to coordinate with the government and JRTT.
"The plan has to be studied from a wide range of perspectives, including safety," said a source related to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.
JR East is developing ALFA-X, a Shinkansen train model that can travel at 360 kph, with the aim of introducing it on the Tohoku and Hokkaido Shinkansen lines around 2030. Further increases in the speed of bullet trains might be possible if the train development project makes steady progress.
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