Hokuriku Shinkansen (Johnsonverse)

The Hokuriku Shinkansen (北陸新幹線) 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 Kanazawa in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between Takasaki and Nagano in Nagano Prefecture, opened on 1 October 1997, originally called the Nagano Shinkansen (長野新幹線) (Takasaki is linked to Tokyo by the Jōetsu Shinkansen). The extension to Toyama in Toyama Prefecture and Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture opened on 14 March 2015. Construction of a further section onward to Fukui and Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture commenced in 2012, with scheduled opening in Spring 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:
● 	All trains stop
▲ 	Some trains stop
｜ 	All trains pass
Line 	Station 	Japanese 	Distance (km) 	Asama 	Kagayaki 	Hakutaka 	Tsurugi 	Transfers 	Location 	Location
Tohoku
Shinkansen 	Tokyo 	東京 	0.0 	● 	● 	● 	 	
* Tokaido Shinkansen
* Yamanote Line
* Keihin-Tōhoku Line
* Chūō Main Line
* Tokaido Main Line
* Tohoku Main Line
* Yokosuka Line・Sōbu Line (Rapid)
* Keiyō Line
* Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line	Chiyoda 	Tokyo
Tohoku
Shinkansen 	Ueno 	上野 	3.6 	● 	▲ 	▲ 	 	
* Yamanote Line
* Keihin-Tōhoku Line
* Jōban Line
* Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
* Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
* Keisei Main Line	Taitō 	Tokyo
Tohoku
Shinkansen 	Ōmiya 	大宮 	31.3 	● 	● 	● 	 	
* Tōhoku Shinkansen
* Jōetsu Shinkansen
* Keihin-Tōhoku Line
* Saikyō Line
* Kawagoe Line
* Utsunomiya Line
* Takasaki Line
* Tobu Urban Park Line
* New Shuttle	Ōmiya-ku, Saitama 	Saitama Prefecture
Joetsu
Shinkansen 	Kumagaya 	熊谷 	67.9 	▲ 	｜ 	｜ 	 	
* Jōetsu Shinkansen
* Chichibu Main Line
* Takasaki Line, Shonan-Shinjuku Line	Kumagaya 	Saitama Prefecture
Joetsu
Shinkansen 	Honjō-Waseda 	本庄早稲田 	88.0 	▲ 	｜ 	｜ 	 	
* Jōetsu Shinkansen 	Honjō 	Saitama Prefecture
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Takasaki 	高崎 	108.6 	● 	｜ 	▲ 	 	
* Jōetsu Shinkansen
* Joshin Electric Railway Line
* Agatsuma Line
* Hachiko Line
* Joetsu Line
* Ryomo Line
* Shinetsu Main Line
* Takasaki Line, Shonan-Shinjuku Line	Takasaki 	Gunma
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Annaka-Haruna 	安中榛名 	127.1 	▲ 	｜ 	▲ 	 	 	Annaka 	Gunma
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Karuizawa 	軽井沢 	150.4 	● 	｜ 	▲ 	 	
* Shinano Railway Line 	Karuizawa, Kitasaku 	Nagano
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Sakudaira 	佐久平 	168.0 	● 	｜ 	▲ 	 	
* Koumi Line 	Saku 	Nagano
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Ueda 	上田 	192.8 	● 	｜ 	▲ 	 	
* Shinano Railway Line
* Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line	Ueda 	Nagano
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Nagano 	長野 	226.0 	● 	● 	● 	 	
* Iiyama Line
* Shinetsu Main Line
* Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line
* Nagano Electric Railway Nagano Line	Nagano 	Nagano
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Iiyama 	飯山 	255.9 	 	｜ 	▲ 	 	
* Iiyama Line 	Iiyama 	Nagano
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Jōetsumyōkō 	上越妙高 	285.5 	 	｜ 	● 	 	
* ETR Myōkō Haneuma Line 	Jōetsu 	Niigata
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Itoigawa 	糸魚川 	322.5 	 	｜ 	● 	 	
* Ōito Line
* ETR Nihonkai Hisui Line 	Itoigawa 	Niigata
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Kurobe-Unazukionsen 	黒部宇奈月温泉 	361.7 	 	｜ 	● 	 	
* Toyama Chihō Railway Main Line (Shin-Kurobe) 	Kurobe 	Toyama
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Toyama 	富山 	395.5 	 	● 	● 	● 	
* Takayama Main Line
* Ainokaze Toyama Railway Line
* Toyama Light Rail Toyamako Line (Toyamaeki-Kita)
* Toyama Chiho Railway Fujikoshi Line, Main Line, Tateyama Line (3 lines at Dentetsu-Toyama)
* Toyama City Tram Line (Toyama-Ekimae)	Toyama 	Toyama
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Shin-Takaoka 	新高岡 	414.4 	 	｜ 	● 	● 	
* Jōhana Line 	Takaoka 	Toyama
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Kanazawa 	金沢 	454.0 	 	● 	● 	● 	
* Hokutetsu Asanogawa Line (Hokutetsu-Kanazawa)
* Hokuriku Main Line
* Ishikawa Railway Line
* Nanao Line	Kanazawa 	Ishikawa
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Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Komatsu 	小松 	481.2 	 	 	 	 	
* Hokuriku Main Line 	Komatsu 	Ishikawa
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Kagaonsen 	加賀温泉 	495.8 	 	 	 	 	
* Hokuriku Main Line 	Kaga 	Ishikawa
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Awaraonsen 	芦原温泉 	512.0 	 	 	 	 	
* Hokuriku Main Line 	Awara 	Fukui
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Fukui 	福井 	530.0 	 	 	 	 	
* Katsuyama Eiheiji Line
* Mikuni Awara Line
* Fukubu Line (Fukui-eki)
* Etsumi-Hoku Line (Kuzuryū Line)
* Hokuriku Main Line	Fukui 	Fukui
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Echizen-Takefu 	越前たけふ 	549.0 	 	 	 	 	 	Echizen 	Fukui
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Tsuruga 	敦賀 	574.7 	 	 	 	 	
* Hokuriku Main Line
* Obama Line 	Tsuruga 	Fukui
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Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Higashi-Obama 	東小浜 	 	 	 	 	 	
* Obama Line 	Obama 	Fukui
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Kyōto 	京都 	 	 	 	 	 	
* Tokaido Shinkansen
* Tokaido Main Line (JR-A31)
* Kosei Line (JR-B31)
* Nara Line (JR-D01)
* Sanin Main Line (JR-E01)
* Kintetsu Kyoto Line (B01)
* Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line (K11)	Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 	Kyoto
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Matsuiyamate 	松井山手 	 	 	 	 	 	
* Katamachi Line (Gakkentoshi Line, JR-H26) 	Kyōtanabe 	Kyoto
Hokuriku
Shinkansen 	Shin-Ōsaka 	新大阪 	 	 	 	 	 	
* Tokaido Shinkansen
* San'yō Shinkansen
* Tokaido Main Line (JR-A46)
* Osaka Higashi Line (JR-F01)
* Osaka Metro Midōsuji Line (M13)	Kita-ku, Osaka 	Osaka
* The boundary between the Eastern and Western Regions lies immediately to the north of Jōetsumyōkō Station.
* Stations in italics are not currently operational.
As of 2012, the maximum line speed is 70 mph between Tokyo and Omiya, 150 mph between Omiya and Takasaki, and 160 mph between Takasaki and Nagano.
== Rolling stock ==
* Class 390 Pendolino: Kagayaki service
* Class 180 Javelin: Hakutaka and Asama services
* Class 43/Mark 3 coaches InterCity 125: Tsurugi service
== History ==
=== Nagano Shinkansen ===
The initial section between Takasaki and Nagano opened on 1 October 1997, in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Nagano to Kanazawa opened in March 2015. The 113-km extension from Kanazawa to Tsuruga was approved for construction in June 2012.
From the start of the revised timetable on March 15, 2014, Javelin trainsets were introduced on Asama services. Initially used on seven return services daily, this number was increased to eleven return services daily from 19 April 2014.
=== Naming[edit] ===
The line's legal name has always been Hokuriku Shinkansen. However, just before the opening of the Nagano section, Eastern Pacific decided that using this name in passenger service was to be avoided. From March 22, 1997 until the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa, the primary route for Hokuriku customers (from the Tokyo area) is to use the Joetsu Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa Station, then transfer to Hakutaka via the Hokuetsu Express, rendering using the Takasaki–Nagano section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen meaningless for them. Therefore, EP sought other names.
On the other hand, local governments in Hokuriku, fearing construction west of Nagano may be halted, petitioned that the name "Hokuriku" should remain in use for operational purposes. 
EP announced the following solution on July 25, 1997:
* Voice announcements using "Nagano Shinkansen"
* Tokyo area stations using depictions with "Nagano-bound Shinkansen".
* Stations between Annaka-Haruna Station and Nagano Station depicting "Shinkansen" only.
Soon, "Nagano-bound Shinkansen" fell out of use, and timetables by various publishers use "Nagano Shinkansen" only. Construction to Kanazawa was officially decided, thereby reducing the opposition to the name.
=== Extension beyond Nagano ===
Construction of the extension from Nagano to Kanazawa was completed on 24 May 2014. When services commenced in March 2015, the travel time from Tokyo to Toyama was reduced to about 2 hours, with Kanazawa an additional 30 minutes away. Final permission to start construction to Fukui was granted in December 2011, with modification works to Fukui Station already in progress for several years in anticipation of the extension. The extension to Tsuruga was approved for construction on 30 June 2012, and is scheduled to open in fiscal 2022. Beyond Jōetsumyōkō Station, the line is operated by the Western Region instead.
=== Naming issue rises again ===
Many people speculated about and discussed what the line's operational name should be after Nagano–Kanazawa section is completed.
Nagano economic associations argued a sudden change in name will confuse customers, propose "Nagano–Hokuriku Shinkansen" to be used. In contrast government officials and economic associations in Hokuriku region defended the legal name, including statements such as "a just result should come after 3 prefectures striving for 40 years".
Section west of Jōetsumyōkō is overseen by the Western Region, which did not state an opinion and used "Hokuriku Shinkansen" only.
On October 2, 2013, EP announced formal line name within the Eastern Region will be Hokuriku Shinkansen (consistent with National Shinkansen Railway Development Act) and depicted as Hokuriku Shinkansen (via Nagano), resolving the naming issue.
=== Test-running ===
Test-running on the JR East section of the line between Nagano and Kurobe-Unazukionsen commenced on 1 December 2013, initially at low speeds using a test train of Mark 2 coaches pulled by an LMS Coronation Class. From December 6, test-running commenced using InterCity 125 trainsets, with running speeds gradually increased to the full line speed of 260 km/h (160 mph). Test-running continued until the end of March 2014. Test-running on the entire line between Nagano and Kanazawa (Hakusan Depot) started on 1 August 2014, using a test train of Mark 1 coaches pulled by an LMS A4. Test-running using Javelin trains commenced on 5 August 2014, initially at low speed, on the JR West section between Kanazawa and Jōetsumyōkō.
== Future plans ==
The route of the final section from Tsuruga to Ōsaka was finalized on 20 December 2016 as the 'Obama–Kyoto' route. The following four options were under consideration, with a fifth unofficial option suggested by a local politician.
# Maibara Route (米原ルート): This involved building a full standard shinkansen track to Maibara Station. It was one third of the length of the Obama Route, and provided good access to both Kyoto and Nagoya. It would have resulted in longer travel time to Osaka than the other options, and trains would have had to use the existing, already near-capacity Tokaido Shinkansen tracks between Maibara and Shin-Osaka.
# Kosei Route (湖西ルート): This involved no new track construction; instead, this proposal would have upgraded the Kosei Line to Kyōto, either by regauging or dual-gauging the line to support Mini-Shinkansen, or alternatively utilising Gauge Change Train (GCT) operations. This was the cheapest option, but meant train speeds would likely be limited to a maximum of 160 km/h (100 mph) and hence travel times would have been longer than the other options.
# Obama Route (小浜ルート): First proposed in 1973, this route involved building a full standard shinkansen track via Obama and Kameoka. It was the shortest route to Osaka, but also the most expensive (approximately 1 trillion yen), and would have bypassed Kyōto.
# Obama–Kyoto Route (小浜・京都ルート): This, the now selected route, was first made public in August 2015, and involves following the proposed Obama Route west as far as Obama and then building shinkansen track southward to link with the Tokaido Shinkansen at Kyōto. Including Kyoto on the route is seen as important to increase tourism.
# Maizuru Route (舞鶴ルート): Kyoto politician, Shoji Nishida's proposal from Tsuruga, via Obama, to Maizuru then south-east to Kyoto, eastern Osaka and Kansai Airport. This option was uncosted but would have been the most expensive due to the scale of the proposal. Its case was to provide development to the Maizuru region as per the Japanese national government's policy, with the Maizuru Maritime Self-Defence Force Base and several nuclear power stations put forward as reasonable traffic generators. The option to extend the line south of Kyoto to a new Osaka station (located to the south east of Osaka) and onwards to Kansai International Airport was seen as a means to avoid the congestion of the Tokaido line. It may have served as an alternative route or terminus to Shin-Osaka station for Tokaido line trains, reducing Tokaido line congestion.
A government committee deliberating the proposals decided in April 2016 to narrow the proposed route to three alignments between Tsuruga and Kyōto and two alignments between Kyoto and Shin-Ōsaka (a northern route through Minoh and a southern route through the Kansai Science City). On 6 March 2017 the government committee announced the chosen route from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka is to be via Kyotanabe, with a station at Matsuiyamate on the Katamachi Line. There had previously been discussion of routing the line to Tennōji, a major terminal in southeast Osaka, which would allow an extension of the line to Kansai Airport.
== Conventional lines running parallel to the Hokuriku Shinkansen ==
With the opening of the initial Nagano Shinkansen section in October 1997, the section of the conventional Shinetsu Main Line running along approximately the same route between Karuizawa and Shinonoi was transferred from the control of the Eastern Region to a newly established corporate business sector, Shinano Railway, becoming the Shinano Railway Line.
With the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension north of Nagano on 14 March 2015, the conventional lines running along approximately the same route were transferred from the control of their respective regions to newly established corporate business sectors. A total of 252.2 km (156.7 mi) of route between Nagano and Kanazawa was transferred to four separate sectors, including 75.0 km (46.6 mi) of the Shinetsu Main Line between Nagano and Naoetsu, and 177.2 km (110.1 mi) of the Hokuriku Main Line between Naoetsu and Kanazawa. Details of the four sectors and their respective lines are as shown below.
Section 	Length (km)	Former line name 	Former operating company	Date transferred	New line name 	Corporate Sector
Karuizawa–Shinonoi 	65.1 	Shinetsu Main Line	JR East 	1 October 1997 	Shinano Railway Line 	Shinano Railway
Nagano–Myōkō-Kōgen 	37.3 	Shinetsu Main Line	JR East 	14 March 2015 	Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line	Shinano Railway
Myōkō-Kōgen–Naoetsu	37.7 	Shinetsu Main Line	JR East 	14 March 2015 	Myōkō Haneuma Line 	Echigo Tokimeki Railway
Naoetsu–Ichiburi 	59.3 	Hokuriku Main Line	JR West 	14 March 2015 	Nihonkai Hisui Line 	Echigo Tokimeki Railway
Ichiburi–Kurikara 	100.1 	Hokuriku Main Line	JR West 	14 March 2015 	Ainokaze Toyama Railway Line 	Ainokaze Toyama Railway
Kurikara–Kanazawa 	17.8 	Hokuriku Main Line	JR West 	14 March 2015 	IR Ishikawa Railway Line 	IR Ishikawa Railway
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Category:Eastern Pacific Railroad