Tohoku Shinkansen

From Virtual Japan

Revision as of 01:34, 19 July 2008 by Japan2000 (Talk | contribs)
(diff) ←Older revision | Current revision (diff) | Newer revision→ (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search

Tohoku Shinkansen is a high speed railway line that travels for 593 km from Tokyo to Hachinohe. It is the longest of all of the Shinkansen lines (Shinkansen is Japanese for “bullet train”). It is owned and operated by Japan’s East Railway Company (JR East). The first routes on the Tohoku Sinkansen opened on June 23rd, 1982.

The Tohoku Shinkansen is part of a large group of bullet trains that travel primarily to and from Tokyo and other major cities and areas that are often commuted daily for business.

History

Construction on the high speed railway started on November 28th, 1971, though the first route was not completed until the middle of 1982. The Omiya to [[]Morio]ka section opened first, followed by the Ueno to Omiga and finally the Tokyo to Ueno (The Morioka to Hachinohe opened in 2002).

By October of 1998, in a little less than 27 years, the Tohoku Shinkansen line had carried its one billionth passenger. However, this pales in comparison to the Tokaido Shinkansen, which carried its 1 billionth passenger in just 17 years, and as early as 1959-1976, and has already carried 4.5 billion total.

The Tohoku Shinkansen travels at 110 km/h from Tokyo to Omiya, but bumps as high as 240 km/h from Omiya to Utsunomiya, 275 km/h from Utsunomiya to Morioka, and 260 km/h from Hachinohe to Morioka. It is estimated that 819.6 million people right the Tohoku Shinkansen every year.

A new section, from Hachinohe to Aomori is scheduled to be completed by 2011. It was originally scheduled for 2010, but the construction has since been delayed.

Stations

Tohoku Shinkansen travels to the following stations: Tokyo Station, Ueno Station, Omiya Station, Oyama Station, Utsunomia Station, Nasushiobara Station, Shin-Shirakawa Station, Koriyama Station, Fukushima station, Shiroishi-Zaō Station, Sendai Station, Furukawa Station, Kurikoma Station, Ichinoseki Station, Mizusawa-Esashi Station, Kitakami Station, Shin-Hanamaki Station, Morioka station, Iwate-Numakunai Station, Ninohe Station, and Hachinohe station.

External Links

Pop culture / Travel / Forum / Gallery / FAQ/Help / Submit

Copyright 2008, VirtualJapan.com. All Rights Reserved.