Earlier this year JR East provided fresh details on the Haneda Airport Access Line, a new rail link which will connect Haneda Airport directly with destinations in central Tokyo. Scheduled to open in 2029 the new line will dramatically reduce the current travel time between Haneda Airport and several key destinations in Tokyo, while removing the need for transfers.

According to the plans, the Haneda Airport Access Line will consist of 4 parts: an Access New Line that links Haneda Airport with Tokyo Freight Terminal in the district of Shinagawa; and three branches: the East Yamanote Route for Tokyo Station; the West Yamanote Route for Shinjuku Station; and the Coastal Route for Shin-Kiba Station. [Read more…]

The exterior of a new station building on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line is to be revealed later this month when the outer construction is completed and its scaffolding comes down. The new station is located between Fukui and Tsuruga and will be called Echizen-Takefu Station. It is due to open in the spring of 2024 along with the opening of the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen.

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JR Kyushu have revealed their latest design plans for the new “Kamome” shinkansen which will use state-of-the-art N700S series trains. The N700S series was first introduced by JR Central and JR West on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines in 2020.

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Sotetsu Hotels have opened a “Railway Concept Room” in a hotel in Kyoto which is decorated with parts taken from an old Sotetsu #7000 series train. This train ran on the Sagami Railway (also called Sotetsu) in Kanagawa Prefecture from 1975 until 2019. The idea behind the room is to raise awareness of the Sagami Railway in regions outside Kanagawa. The room was opened in Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma in early July and is now taking bookings.

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Sad news for railfans – JR East will retire the last double-decker high-speed bullet train this autumn. First introduced in 1997, the E4 series was the second double-decker series of shinkansen trains after the E1 series which was introduced in 1994 and retired in 2012. Both series were marketed under the name “Max” or “Multi-Amenity Express” and were built to transport more passengers on busy commuter routes between Tokyo and the cities of northern Japan. Formerly running on the Tohoku, Nagano, and Joetsu Shinkansen lines, the E4 now runs only on the Joetsu Shinkansen which runs between Tokyo and Niigata.

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Asa Seaside Railway in Tokushima Prefecture will introduce a dual-mode vehicle (DMV) this summer which can run along both railway tracks and roads. The new DMV runs on normal rubber tires when on roads, but at interchange stops the rubber tires are lifted and special rail-track wheels descend. Although JR Hokkaido have previously tested a similar DMV, the new DMV in Tokushima will be the first of its kind to run regular commercial operations.

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Nankai Electric Railway’s Koyasan Cable Line has become the first cable car line in Japan to completely decarbonize and now operates with 100% renewable energy.

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The Fuji Kyuko company which operates the Fujikyuko Railway in Yamanashi Prefecture has announced that it is splitting its railway division off into a separate company this month. To mark the railway’s newfound independence, the railway will also be renamed Fuji Electric Railway (富士山麓電気鉄道- Fuji Sanroku Denki Tetsudo) a historic name it last held 61 years ago.

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Yaesu Bus Terminal, which is now under construction on the east side of Tokyo Station, is to become the biggest bus station in Japan.

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A new upscale hotel in Kyoto has added a train-themed “Railway Room” which is sure to delight railway enthusiasts. The Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Umekoji, which opened on March 12th this year, overlooks Umekoji Park and is just a 4-minute walk from Kyoto Railway Museum, Japan’s biggest railway museum.

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