Japan extends bullet train travel to northern island of Hokkaido

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The first Shinkansen bullet train line directly linking Japan's northernmost island Hokkaido with Tokyo opened on Saturday, promising shorter travel times and introducing slick new cars.

The first train on a section of the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line left Shin-Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture, at the tip of Japan's main Honshu Island at 6.32am, bound for Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto terminal in Hokkaido.

According to operators Hokkaido Railway Co. and East Japan Railway Co., the high-speed trains will run from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to the capital in as little as four hours and two minutes.

This cuts the current shortest travel time from the port city of Hakodate to Tokyo by 53 minutes, when including a local line train required to get from Hakodate Station to the Shinkansen terminal.

The "Hakodate Liner" local line train can shuttle passengers between Hakodate and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto stations in as little as 15 minutes.

We have been using planes until now, but we want to use the Shinkansen frequently

Hiroyuki Sato, passenger

In addition to Shin-Aomori, now as little as one hour and one minute away from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, major stops on the line include Morioka in Iwate, one hour and 50 minutes away, and Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, two hours and 30 minutes away.

The train uses the undersea Seikan Tunnel linking Hokkaido with Aomori. The tunnel opened in 1988 and until recently was traversed by overnight train services. The line through the tunnel is shared with local trains.

Hiroyuki Sato, 52, who travelled with his family on the first train from Tokyo to see relatives in Hokkaido, said: "We have been using planes until now, but we want to use the Shinkansen frequently because travel is more enjoyable [on a train]."

The first trains from Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto arrived at their destinations on time.

Takuro Yamazaki, 31, who took the first train from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto with his wife and son, liked the comfort of the new train.

"The ride was quieter than the local train even when running through the Seikan Tunnel," he said.

Some of the services on the new Shinkansen line will use new JR Hokkaido's "H-5" rolling stock featuring a purple-striped exterior and snowflake-patterned flooring in the regular cars, the operators said.

A total of 32 services will operate in both directions on Saturday, including certain special trains.

Last month, tickets for the first Tokyo-bound service from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto sold out in 25 seconds, while tickets for the first service going the opposite way were gone in 30 seconds, according to JR Hokkaido and JR East.


Source: Japan extends bullet train travel to northern island of Hokkaido

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