Tōhoku Shinkansen
The Tōhoku Shinkansen is a Japanese high-speed rail line and part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Operated by the East Japan Railway Company, it runs along the Tōhoku region of Japan's main island, Honshu. It links Tokyo in the south to Aomori in the north, with stops in major cities such as Morioka, Koriyama, Fukushima, Hachinohe, and Sendai. With a route length of, it is Japan's longest Shinkansen line and supports the network's highest operating speed, reaching on a section between Utsunomiya and Morioka.
The line opened in stages beginning in 1982 between Ōmiya and Morioka, with the final section to Shin-Aomori completed in 2010. It connects with the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which opened in 2016 and extends services through the Seikan Tunnel to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. The Tōhoku Shinkansen also has two mini-Shinkansen branches, the Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen, lines operating at conventional speeds, but with widened track to permit through-running by Shinkansen trainsets. Ongoing work aims to further increase operating speeds to in the future.
Four services currently operate on the route: the express Hayabusa, the limited-stop Yamabiko, and the all-stop Hayate and Nasuno. The Hayabusa is the only train that operates the length of the corridor, with the Hayabusa and Hayate providing through service onto the Hokkaido Shinkansen. As of 2021, the fastest travel times between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori are on the Hayabusa service, at 2 hours and 58 minutes. The mini-Shinkansen also provide through service to and from Tokyo via the Tōhoku Shinkansen; typically, Komachi and Tsubasa trains are coupled to Hayabusa and Yamabiko trains at Tokyo and are decoupled at Morioka and Fukushima, respectively, where they continue on to their mini-Shinkansen lines.
Services
The Tōhoku Shinkansen operates with four different services:Hayabusa: Tokyo – Shin-Aomori express service. Short turn trains starting or ending at Morioka stop at all or selected stations between Furukawa and Shin-Hanamaki, while trains starting or ending at Shin-Aomori or Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto pass these stations.Yamabiko: Tokyo – Morioka limited-stop service. Trains stop at selected stations between Tokyo and Sendai, then at all stations between Sendai and Morioka.Hayate: Morioka – Shin-Aomori all-stops service, except Iwate-Numakunai.Nasuno: Tokyo – Kōriyama all-stops service.Through trains on the Akita and Yamagata mini-Shinkansen lines also operate over Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks:Tsubasa: Tokyo – Shinjō limited-stop service. Typically coupled to Yamabiko trains between Tokyo and Fukushima, then continues onto the Yamagata Shinkansen, stopping at all stations to Shinjō.Komachi: Tokyo – Akita limited-stop service. Typically coupled to Hayabusa trains between Tokyo and Morioka, then continues onto the Akita Shinkansen, stopping at all stations to Akita.
One service has been discontinued:Aoba: Tokyo – Sendai all-stops service, June 1982 – October 1997
Operating speeds
As of March 2021, maximum operating speeds are between Tokyo and Ueno, between Ueno and Ōmiya, between Ōmiya and Utsunomiya, between Utsunomiya and Morioka, and between Morioka and Shin-Aomori.Work is under way to raise the maximum speed on the section between Morioka and Shin-Aomori to, primarily through the installation of improved trackside noise barriers. Construction began in October 2020 and is expected to take about seven years to complete.
On 30 October 2012, JR East announced plans to pursue research and development aimed at increasing maximum operating speeds on the Tōhoku Shinkansen to after 2030. Operation at this speed is dependent on the successful implementation of noise-reduction and vibration-control technologies evaluated using the ALFA-X experimental train.
Although these technologies have progressed, the introduction of commercial service at has been postponed following delays to the extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo, now scheduled for the late 2030s. As a result, the E10 series Shinkansen—planned to enter service in fiscal 2030 and developed based on ALFA-X testing—is currently expected to operate at a maximum speed of.
List of stations
Service column legend:| ● | All trains stop |
| ▲ | Some trains stop |
| All trains pass |
Rolling stock
As of March 2024, the following types are used on Tōhoku Shinkansen services:E2 series: Yamabiko / Nasuno services E3 series: Tsubasa services to/from Shinjo E5/H5 series: Hayabusa / Hayate / Yamabiko / Nasuno services E6 series: Komachi services to/from Akita E8 series: Tsubasa services to/from ShinjoPlanned rolling stock
- '''E10 series'''
Former rolling stock
200 series: Yamabiko / Nasuno / Aoba services 400 series: Tsubasa services E1 series: Max Yamabiko / Max Aoba services E4 series: Max Yamabiko / Max Nasuno servicesNon-revenue-earning types
- '''East i (E926)'''
History
Planning for what became the Tōhoku and Jōetsu Shinkansen progressed in parallel. Following the opening of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, and amid construction of the San'yō Shinkansen, the National Diet passed the Nationwide Shinkansen Development Act in May 1970, which set out a framework for a nationwide high-speed rail network. That led to the Japanese government formally approved both the Tōhoku and Jōetsu routes in 1971, with construction beginning on 28 November.However, the work advanced at a time when noise and vibration from the Tōkaidō and San'yō lines had become a growing public concern. Opposition developed along parts of the planned Tōhoku and Jōetsu corridor, especially in Saitama Prefecture and northern Tokyo, where local residents and civic groups organized protests and administrative challenges that slowed construction. In response, Japanese National Railways suspended work between Tokyo and Ōmiya and prepared to open the lines provisionally at Ōmiya while negotiations continued.
Through the late 1970s, a compromise plan was negotiated between JNR, the national government, and local authorities. A rail connection between Saitama and central Tokyo, long identified as a regional need, became a focal point of the settlement. JNR agreed to establish the connection as the Saikyō Line, along with building the New Shuttle to serve developing areas around Saitama Prefecture. To further address community concerns over noise and vibration JNR committed to lowering operating speeds and to minimize land acquisitions by adopting a more constrained alignment approaching Tokyo, which would further reduce speeds. JNR also agreed to add a stop at Ueno Station, which was not included in the original plan. With these conditions in place, construction between Tokyo and Ōmiya begun.
The first section of the Tōhoku Shinkansen, between Ōmiya and Morioka, opened on 23 June 1982, followed by the Jōetsu Shinkansen on 15 November. During this period, passengers on the Tōhoku and Jōetsu lines coming from or bound for central Tokyo used the "Shinkansen Relay", a non-stop conventional express service operating between Ōmiya and Ueno. The line was extended south to Ueno on 14 March 1985, allowing direct transfers to the urban rail network. Meanwhile, in April 1987, JNR was divided and privatized, and operation of the line was transferred to the East Japan Railway Company.
The final link into Tokyo Station opened on 20 June 1991. Later that year, as part of the privatization of JNR, the facilities of the Tōhoku and Jōetsu Shinkansen were transferred to JR East.
Extensions
The reach of the Tōhoku Shinkansen was expanded through the introduction of two mini-Shinkansen lines, created by converting existing [3 ft 6 in gauge railways|] narrow gauge lines to to allow through operation of Shinkansen services. While the track gauge is widened, the original loading gauge is retained, necessitating the use of specially designed Shinkansen rolling stock with a narrower cross-section, leading to the "mini-Shinkansen" designation. Unlike purpose-built high-speed Shinkansen lines, mini-Shinkansen lines are constrained by their legacy infrastructure to maximum operating speeds of up to. Two mini-Shinkansen routes were constructed: the Yamagata Shinkansen, which opened in 1992, and the Akita Shinkansen, which opened in 1997.Northward extensions of the main Shinkansen line proceeded in stages. The section from Morioka to Hachinohe opened in December 2002, followed by the extension to Shin-Aomori on 4 December 2010.
Beyond Shin-Aomori, the line and some services continue as the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, which opened on 26 March 2016 via the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest undersea railway tunnel. A further extension to Sapporo is planned, with opening currently scheduled for 2039.
On 5 March 2011, Hayabusa services began operating between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori at speeds of up to using new E5 series trainsets. Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, maximum speeds were temporarily reduced to. In 2013, the maximum operating speed was increased to.
Because the route crosses mountainous terrain, it makes extensive use of long tunnels. The Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel, completed in 2000, was briefly the world's longest land railway tunnel, before being surpassed in 2005 by the Hakkōda Tunnel on the extension toward Aomori. Both were later exceeded by Switzerland's Lötschberg Base Tunnel in 2007 and the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2010.