The is a Mini-shinkansen route in Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It provides service between

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and Shinjō in Yamagata Prefecture over the tracks of the Tohoku Shinkansen and the

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1992, the Fukushima–Yama ...

. The term Yamagata Shinkansen refers to the segment that connects

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

and Shinjō. Because the shinkansen trains share tracks with regular service trains, it is often referred to as a "mini-shinkansen".

Operations

Trains consist of 7-car E3 series trainsets operating as '' Tsubasa'' services. Between and

, the trains run coupled to '' Yamabiko'' trains on the Tōhoku Shinkansen. Between Fukushima and Shinjō, the trains run on their own at a maximum speed of and share the line with regular Ōu Main Line trains. As of July 2012, about 62 million passengers had ridden the line since it opened in July 1992. The fastest trains connected Tokyo and Yamagata stations in two hours and 29 minutes.

Proposed Ou Base Tunnel

Construction of a Base tunnel on the Yamagata Shinkansen is proposed, with JR East having undertaken a survey of a planned route from Niwasaka to Sekine, just south of Yonezawa station. of the proposed line would be in tunnel, mostly to the north of the existing Fukushima – Yamagata section. To be built on an improved alignment, the tunnel would lower journey times between Fukushima and Yamagata by ~10 min due to a proposed line speed of up to 200 km/h. The tunnel would avoid the Itaya Toge pass through the Ou mountains west of Fukushima. Gradients range from 3.0% to 3.8% and the line reaches an altitude of . The curvature and steep grades limit train speeds to or less, and the line is vulnerable to heavy rain and snowfall as well as high winds. Between 2011 and 2017 a total of 410 Yamagata mini-Shinkansen services were either suspended or delayed, and 40% of these incidents occurred on the line over the Itaya Toge pass. If the base tunnel is authorised, detailed design would take five years and construction another 15 years. The cost could increase by if the tunnel were to be built with a cross-section large enough to permit the line to be upgraded to the full Shinkansen loading gauge.

Station list

* All stations listed below are located on the

. * Beyond Fukushima, trains bound for Tokyo run with Tohoku Shinkansen trains.

Rolling stock

As of March 2020, the following types are used on Yamagata Shinkansen services. JReastE3-2000-1000

* E3-1000 series 7-car sets, since 4 December 1999 (to be replaced by E8 series after 2024) * E3-2000 series 7 car sets, since 20 December 2008

Former rolling stock

* 400 series 7-car sets (originally 6-car sets) withdrawn by 18 April 2010

Future rolling stock

* E8 series 7-car sets, from 2024 onwards

Non-revenue-earning-types

* East i (E269) *

History

* 1 July 1992: '' Tsubasa'' services start from Tokyo to Yamagata with six-car

400 Series Shinkansen The was a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between 1992 and 2010 on '' Tsubasa'' services on Japan's first mini-shinkansen line, the Yamagata Shinkansen branch from the main Tohoku Shi ...

attached to a 200 Series Shinkansen on Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks between Tokyo and

. * 1 December 1995: Trains are extended to seven cars. * 4 December 1999: Line is extended to Shinjō. * 21 September 2001: Double-decker E4 Series Shinkansen replace the 200 series trains on the Tōhoku Shinkansen. * 18 March 2007: All cars are made non-smoking. * 20 December 2008: E3-2000 series trains enter service * 18 April 2010: 400 series trains cease operations. * 11 March 2011: All services are suspended due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. * 31 March 2011: Partial services resume between Fukushima and Shinjō. * 12 April 2011: Through-service resumed between Tokyo and Shinjō but at half of previous capacity. *13 February 2021: Services suspended north of Nasushiobara Station due to the 2021 Fukushima earthquake. *9 June 2022: The line celebrates 30 years of operation. An E3 series trainset will be wrapped in a commemorative livery and will stay in service until November 2022.

References

External links

Stations of Yamagata Shinkansen
(JR East) {{Authority control Lines of East Japan Railway Company High-speed railway lines in Japan Standard gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1992 1992 establishments in Japan