Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) plans to designate Shinagawa Station as the Tokyo starting point for a new maglev line it aims to launch in 2027 that will run to Nagoya, industry sources have said.
As part of a plan to fully open the maglev line between Tokyo and Osaka in 2045, Shinagawa was chosen over Tokyo Station in light of its access to Haneda airport and the lack of space for a large new station facility at Tokyo Station, which is already the hub of many JR and subway lines, they said.
The station for the maglev service will be underground, with JR Tokai considering plans that include digging a 1-km-long tunnel dozens of meters below ground, they said.
With construction costs of around ¥5.1 trillion, the line will enable passengers to travel between Tokyo and Nagoya in about 40 minutes, compared with the roughly 100 minutes it currently takes by bullet train.
The company is also considering redesigning Nagoya Station to enable passengers to get to the shinkansen platform in about 10 minutes if the maglev service is suspended, and could apply the same idea to Shinagawa Station.
JR Tokai said in April it was delaying the launch of the Tokyo-Nagoya line by two years from the initial target of 2025 due to a decline in revenue from its mainstay Tokaido Shinkansen Line services.