The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan.
The first section, between and in Nagano Prefecture, opened on 1 October 1997 in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics, and was originally called the . The extension to in Toyama Prefecture and in Ishikawa Prefecture opened on 14 March 2015. Construction of a further section onward to and in Fukui Prefecture commenced in 2012, with scheduled opening on 16 March 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: Tokyo–Kanazawa, limited-stop service, since 14 March 2015
Hakutaka: 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 limited express services, also named Asama, which previously took 2 hours 50 minutes from Tokyo (Ueno Station) 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 which required the use of bank engines on all trains.
Stations
Legend:
The boundary between JR East and JR West lies immediately to the north of Jōetsumyōkō Station. 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 12-car "F" sets" (since 15 March 2014) W7 series 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 8-car sets. A fleet of 17 new E7 series 12-car trainsets were phased in from March 2014, and these were augmented by a fleet of 10 JR West W7 series 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 was flooded as the Chikuma River overflowed during typhoon Hagibis. As a result, JR West suffered a loss of .
Former rolling stock
E2 series 8-car "N" sets on Tokyo - Nagano Asama services only
E2 series 8-car "J" sets
E4 series 8-car "P50/P80" sets as Max Asama
200 series 12-car set F80 during February 1998 only
The original E2 series 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 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‰ 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.
History
Nagano Shinkansen
The initial section between Takasaki and Nagano opened on 1 October 1997, in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
Between May 2012 and March 2014, station platforms on the Nagano Shinkansen had their platform roofs extended to handle the E7 series 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.