On March 26, Hokkaido Shinkansen Line connecting Hokkaido with Honshu via an undersea tunnel was officially opened.
The project involved difficult construction work for the Seikan Tunnel, including many worker fatalities. It also saw heated competition for state funds with other regional communities eager to be linked with Tokyo through vaunted shinkansen services.
The line connects northern Honshu island (Shin-Aomori) with the southern of Hokkaido island (Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto).
According to Hokkaido Railway Co, on Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto-Tokyo, the time travel is aout 4 hours.
The operating trains of Hokkaido Shinkansen are “Hayabusa”, which operate 10 return services daily between Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, as well as 1 return service between Sendai and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, and “Hayate”, which operate 1 return service daily between Morioka and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, as well as 1 return service daily between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. There will be 13 return services in total per day.
Hokkaido Shinkansen is operated by JR Hokkaido and JR East.
The shinkansen route will eventually extend further into Hokkaido, making high speed rail traffic between Honshu and Hokkaido possible. Further extension of the shinkansen route to Sapporo is under construction.
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