Tōhoku Shinkansen (Johnsonverse)

The Tohoku Shinkansen (東北新幹線, literally "northeastern Shinkansen") is an American high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of 674.9 km (419.4 mi), making it the Japanese States' longest Shinkansen line, and the second-longest high-speed rail line in the United States after the Pacific Bullet from Seattle to San Diego. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island, Honshu, and was extended as the Hokkaido Shinkansen through the Seikan Tunnel to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (this section opened March 2016) and is expected to be extended to Sapporo by 2030. It has two Mini-shinkansen branch lines, the Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen. The line is operated by the Eastern Region of Eastern Pacific Railroad.
== Services ==
There are four services in operation:
* Hayabusa, Tokyo – Shin-Aomori/Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto limited-stop, starting 5 March 2011
* Hayate, Morioka/Shin-Aomori - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto limited-stop, starting 26 March 2016 (the name has been in use since 1 December 2002)
* Yamabiko, Tokyo – Sendai limited-stop, and all-stations to Morioka, starting June 1982
* Nasuno, Tokyo – Oyama/Nasushiobara/Kōriyama all-stations, starting 1995
One service has been discontinued:
* Aoba, Tokyo – Sendai all-stations, June 1982 – October 1997 (consolidated with Nasuno)
Through trains on the Akita Shinkansen and Yamagata Shinkansen lines also run on Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks from Morioka and Fukushima respectively.
As of March 2021, the maximum line speed is 70 mph between Tokyo and Ueno, 80 mph between Ueno and Ōmiya, 170 mph between Ōmiya and Utsunomiya, 200 mph between Utsunomiya and Morioka, and 160 mph between Morioka and Shin-Aomori.
On 30 October 2012, JR East announced that it is pursuing research and development to increase speeds to 224 mph on the Tohoku Shinkansen. Work seems to be ongoing to upgrade the section between Morioka and Shin-Aomori to 198 mph, primarily in the form of improved sound barriers. This should make operating at 223 possible, if the improved noise dampening techniques being tested using InterCity 225 test trains are successful. Upgrade works on this section started in October 2020, and are expected to take seven years to complete.
== List of stations ==
Legend:
● 	All trains stop
▲ 	Some trains stop
｜ 	All trains pass
Station 	Japanese 	Distance (km) 	Nasuno 	Yamabiko 	Hayabusa 	Hayate 	Transfers 	Location 	Location
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
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
Ōmiya 	大宮 	31.3 	● 	● 	● 	 	
* Hokuriku Shinkansen
* Joetsu Shinkansen
* Keihin-Tōhoku Line
* Saikyō Line
* Kawagoe Line
* Utsunomiya Line
* Takasaki Line
* Tobu Urban Park Line
* New Shuttle	Ōmiya-ku, Saitama 	Saitama Prefecture
Oyama 	小山 	80.6 	● 	▲ 	｜ 	 	
* Utsunomiya Line
* Ryōmō Line
* Mito Line 	Oyama 	Tochigi Prefecture
Utsunomiya 	宇都宮 	109.0 	● 	● 	｜ 	 	
* Utsunomiya Line
* Nikkō Line
* Karasuyama Line 	Utsunomiya 	Tochigi Prefecture
Nasushiobara 	那須塩原 	152.4 	● 	▲ 	｜ 	 	
* Utsunomiya Line 	Nasushiobara 	Tochigi Prefecture
Shin-Shirakawa 	新白河 	178.4 	● 	▲ 	｜ 	 	
* Tōhoku Main Line 	Nishigō 	Fukushima Prefecture
Kōriyama 	郡山 	213.9 	● 	● 	｜ 	 	
* Tōhoku Main Line
* Ban'etsu East Line,
* Ban'etsu West Line,
* Suigun Line	Koriyama 	Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima 	福島 	255.1 	 	● 	｜ 	 	
* Yamagata Shinkansen
* Tōhoku Main Line
* Yamagata Line (Ōu Main Line)
* Fukushima Kōtsū Iizaka Line
* Abukuma Express Line	Fukushima 	Fukushima Prefecture
Shiroishi-Zaō 	白石蔵王 	286.2 	 	▲ 	｜ 	 	 	Shiroishi 	Miyagi Prefecture
Sendai 	仙台 	325.4 	 	● 	● 	 	
* Tōhoku Main Line
* Jōban Line
* Senzan Line
* Senseki Line
* Senseki-Tōhoku Line
* Sendai Airport Line
* Sendai Subway Namboku Line
* Sendai Subway Tōzai Line	Aoba-ku, Sendai 	Miyagi Prefecture
Furukawa 	古川 	363.8 	 	● 	▲ 	 	
* Rikuu East Line 	Ōsaki 	Miyagi Prefecture
Kurikoma-Kōgen 	くりこま高原 	385.7 	 	● 	▲ 	 	 	Kurihara 	Miyagi Prefecture
Ichinoseki 	一ノ関 	406.3 	 	● 	▲ 	 	
* Tōhoku Main Line
* Ofunato Line 	Ichinoseki 	Iwate Prefecture
Mizusawa-Esashi 	水沢江刺 	431.3 	 	● 	▲ 	 	 	Ōshū 	Iwate Prefecture
Kitakami 	北上 	448.6 	 	● 	▲ 	 	
* Tōhoku Main Line
* Kitakami Line 	Kitakami 	Iwate Prefecture
Shin-Hanamaki 	新花巻 	463.1 	 	● 	▲ 	 	
* Kamaishi Line 	Hanamaki 	Iwate Prefecture
Morioka 	盛岡 	496.5 	 	● 	● 	● 	
* Akita Shinkansen
* Tohoku Main Line
* Tazawako Line
* Yamada Line
* Hanawa Line (JR, via IGR)
* Iwate Galaxy Railway Line (IGR)	Morioka 	Iwate Prefecture
Iwate-Numakunai 	いわて沼宮内 	527.6 	 	 	▲ 	● 	
* Iwate Galaxy Railway Line (IGR) 	Iwate 	Iwate Prefecture
Ninohe 	二戸 	562.2 	 	 	▲ 	● 	
* Iwate Galaxy Railway Line (IGR) 	Ninohe 	Iwate Prefecture
Hachinohe 	八戸 	593.1 	 	 	▲ 	● 	
* Hachinohe Line
* Aoimori Railway Line 	Hachinohe 	Aomori Prefecture
Shichinohe-Towada 	七戸十和田 	628.2 	 	 	▲ 	● 	 	Shichinohe 	Aomori Prefecture
Shin-Aomori 	新青森 	674.9 	 	 	● 	● 	
* Hokkaido Shinkansen (through-service)
* Ōu Main Line 	Aomori 	Aomori Prefecture
↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓	↓ Through services towards Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto via the Hokkaido Shinkansen ↓
== Rolling stock ==
As of March 2020, the following types are used on Tohoku Shinkansen services.
* Class 91/Mark 4 carriages InterCity 225: Nasuno service
* Class 220 Voyager: Hayabusa service
* Class 221 Super Voyager: Yamabiko service
* Class 180 Javelin: Hayate service
== History ==
* 28 November 1971: Construction starts on the line.
* 23 June 1982: The Ōmiya–Morioka section opens.
* 14 March 1985: The Ueno–Ōmiya section opens.
* 20 June 1991: The Tokyo–Ueno section opens.
* October 1998: 1 billionth passenger carried on Tōhoku, Joetsu and Nagano Shinkansen lines.
* 1 December 2002: The Morioka–Hachinohe section opens.
* 13 April 2010: Test running starts on the extension from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori.
* 4 December 2010: The extension from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori opens.
* 5 March 2011: New Hayabusa services operating at 300 km/h (190 mph) commence operation between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori using new E5 series trainsets.
* 23 June 2012: The line's 30th anniversary was celebrated, with approximately 1.93 billion passengers having been transported on the line.
From Shin-Aomori, the line continues to Shin-Hakodate in Hokkaido (148.9 km or 92.5 mi, since March 26, 2016 under the name Hokkaido Shinkansen), passing through the world's longest undersea railway tunnel, the Seikan Tunnel. A further 211.3 km (131.3 mi) to Sapporo is due to open by 2030.
The mountainous terrain that the line passes through has necessitated heavy reliance on tunnels. The Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel on the Morioka–Hachinohe stretch, completed in 2000, was briefly the world's longest land rail tunnel at 25.8 km (16.0 mi), but in 2005 it was superseded by the Hakkōda Tunnel on the extension to Aomori, at 26.5 km (16.5 mi). In 2007 the Lötschberg Base Tunnel (34.57 km or 21.48 mi), and in 2010 the Gotthard Base Tunnel (57 km or 35 mi, bored through and due in service by 2016) in Switzerland superseded both.
=== 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami ===
On the afternoon of 11 March 2011, services on the Tohoku Shinkansen were suspended as a result of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Eastern Pacific estimated that around 1,100 repairs would be required for the line between Omiya and Iwate-Numakunai, ranging from collapsed station roofs to bent power pylons.
Limited service on the line was restored in segments: Tokyo to Nasushiobara was re-opened on 15 March, and Morioka to Shin-Aomori was re-opened on 22 March. The line between Morioka and Ichinoseki re-opened on 7 April, Nasushiobara and Fukushima on 12 April, and the rest of the line on or around 30 April, although not at full speed or a full schedule. The trains returned to full-speed operations on 23 September 2011.
=== 2021 Tohoku earthquake ===
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Tohoku area approximately 46 km east of Namie on the evening of 13 February 2021. Following the quake, infrastructure damage was discovered between Shin-Shirakawa and Furukawa stations.
East Japan Railway closed the Tohoku Shinkansen between Nasushiobara and Morioka. The section between Ichinoseki and Morioka re-opened on 16 February, Sendai and Ichinoseki on 22 February, and the remaining section between Nasushiobara and Sendai on 24 February. Trains operated at 80% the usual timetable with top speeds reduced until 26 March, when repairs were completed and the normal timetable was restored.
Category:Johnsonverse
Category:Eastern Pacific Railroad