Exclusive Look: Behind the Scenes of Shinagawa Station’s Linear Chuo Shinkansen Transformation

In order to prepare for a major earthquake with the Nankai Trough mega-earthquake in mind, JR Tokai plans to preserve the Tokaido Shinkansen and secure a twin artery connecting the three major metropolitan areas, with a total project cost of approximately 9.3 trillion yen We are proceed with a maintenance plan for the “Linear Chuo Shinkansen”.

The maximum speed is 500 km/h, and it is planned to connect Tokyo / Shinagawa and Nagoya in 40 minutes, about 1 hour shorter than the Tokaido Shinkansen, and between Tokyo / Shinagawa and Osaka in 1 hour and 7 minutes, about 1 hour and 15 minutes shorter.

JR Tokai is proceeding with construction between Shinagawa and Nagoya, and this section was originally due to open in 2027, but construction in Shizuoka did not proceed due to concerns about the impact on the environment, such as water resources and ecosystems, and the plan was to delay it significantly.

Under these circumstances, the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, who took office in May this year, told JR Tokai in September that he had agreed to carry out the boring survey, noting that the consent of local governments in the basin had been secured .

The construction in Shizuoka is said to take about 10 years, and even if construction started now, it is expected that it would not open until 2034.

In addition, near a tunnel construction site in Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, water levels in wells have dropped and land subsidence has occurred, and JR Tokai has indicated that “groundwater leakage due to construction may be having an effect.”

Last month, the governor of Gifu prefecture and the mayors of the prefecture called on JR Tokai to realize the Linear Chuo Shinkansen quickly, as well as investigate the cause and prevent the damage from spreading.

Furthermore, experts attending the centre’s Environmental Impact Assessment Committee are calling on JR Central to show the extent to which subsidence is likely to develop and what kind of impact it could have on people’s lives.