Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 26, 2021

The Chuo Shinkansen (中央新幹線) is a Japanese maglev line under construction between Tokyo and Nagoya, with plans for extension to Osaka. Its initial section is between Shinagawa Station in Tokyo and Nagoya Station in Nagoya, with stations in Sagamihara, Kōfu, Iida and Nakatsugawa. The line is expected to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in 40 minutes, as well as eventually Tokyo and Osaka in 67 minutes, running at a maximum speed of 500 km/h. About 90% of the 286 km line to Nagoya will be tunnels. The Chuo Shinkansen is the culmination of Japanese maglev development since the 1970s, a government-funded project initiated by Japan Airlines and the former Japanese National Railways (JNR). Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) now operates the facilities and research. The line is intended to be built by extending and incorporating the existing Yamanashi test track. The trainsets themselves are popularly known in Japan as linear motor car (リニアモーターカー), though there have been many technical variations. Government permission to proceed with construction was granted on May 27, 2011. Construction of the line, which is expected to cost over ¥9 trillion, commenced in 2014. The start date of commercial service is unknown, after Shizuoka Prefecture denied permission for construction work on a portion of the route in June 2020. JR Central had originally aimed to begin commercial service between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027, with the Nagoya–Osaka section originally planned to be completed by 2045. The government is, however, planning to support a speed-up of the timeline for the construction of the Osaka section by up to 8 years to 2037 with a loan.