Will the Ou-Uetsu Shinkansen actually come to fruition?

The most well-known Shinkansen line that runs through the Tohoku region is the Tohoku Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo Station and Shin-Aomori Station

The Yamagata Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo Station with Yamagata Station and Shinjo Station, and the Akita Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo Station with Akita Station, are also directly connected to the Tohoku Shinkansen and conventional lines (known as mini-shinkansen systems), and are playing a major role in improving access within the Tohoku region

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Why was the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" mini-shinkansen created? [Yamagata Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/32125

The Yamagata Shinkansen, also known as "Tsubasa," is a direct train that runs between Tokyo Station and Yamagata Station or Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture. In this article, we'll explain why this train was created. What is the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa"? The E3 Series 2000 "Tsubasa" (foreground) and E5 Series "Yamabiko" (background) are coupled together. "Tsubasa" is a JR East Shinkansen/Limited Express train that primarily runs between Tokyo Station and Yamagata Station or Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture without transfers. The journey between Tokyo Station and Yamagata Station takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the journey from Fukushima Station to Yamagata Station takes approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. The journey from Yamagata Station to Shinjo Station takes 45 minutes to 1 hour...

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The Hokkaido Shinkansen, which runs directly with the Tohoku Shinkansen, currently runs from Shin-Aomori Station to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hokkaido, but is scheduled to be extended to Sapporo Station in the future. This extension will bring about major changes in access between the Tohoku region and Hokkaido

"Ou Shinkansen" andthe "Uetsu Shinkansen, are you familiar withdo not exist at all on current Japanese railway maps or routes. For now, they are bullet train lines that only exist as plans for construction.

You might be wondering, "Is such a Shinkansen project even realistic?" However, at leastas of 1973, it was a route that the government believed was necessary for Japan's future, so it wasn't some far-fetched plan without any basis.

What is the Ou Shinkansen?

The Ou Shinkansenthe planned Shinkansen route that will connect Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture to Akita City in Akita Prefecture, passing through the vicinity of Yamagata City in Yamagata Prefectureis the name given to

Currently, the Ou Main Line runs between Fukushima City and Akita City, passing through Fukushima Station, Yamagata Station, Shinjo Station, and Akita Station before finally reaching Aomori Station.
If the Ou Shinkansen is realized, it is thought that it will start at Fukushima Station and end at Akita Station, running roughly parallel to the Ou Main Line.

In addition, Ou Shinkansen trains will no longer turn around at Fukushima Station in the south, but will instead connect to the Tohoku Shinkansen and head for Tokyo Station (just as the Yamagata Shinkansen's Tsubasa currently does)

It should be noted that the Yamagata Shinkansen's "Tsubasa" runs between Fukushima Station and Shinjo Station on the Ou Main Line, and the Akita Shinkansen's "Komachi" runs between Omagari Station and Akita Station. However, the Ou Shinkansenfundamentally a separate project from the Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen. Unlike the Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen, which have sections where trains run on conventional lines with a maximum speed of 130 km/h, the Ou Shinkansentrains can run at high speeds of 200 km/h or moreis expected to be a line where

If the Ou Shinkansen is realized, it is estimated that the journey between Tokyo and Yonezawa will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes,between Tokyo and Yamagata about 1 hour and 40 minutes, and between Tokyo and Shinjo about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The current "Tsubasa" trains take about 2 hours and 10 minutes, 2 hours and 45 minutes, and 3 and a half hours respectively, so there is no doubt that this will result in significant time savings.

Furthermore,the journey between Tokyo Station and Akita Station could be completed in about two and a half hours by running trains with fewer stops on the Ou Shinkansen line. Currently, this journey takes about four hours on the Akita Shinkansen's "Komachi" train, so it would give the impression that Akita and Tokyo would be considerably closer.

The fact that travel time between Yamagata Station and Akita Station, which currently takes about 3.5 hours via the Ou Main Line, will be reduced to about 40 minutesis also significant in terms of innovating transportation within the Tohoku region.

If the Ou Shinkansen is realized, Akita and Yamagata prefectures will also have Shinkansen lines running through them, not just mini-Shinkansen lines. Combined with Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, which are already served by the Tohoku Shinkansen,all six prefectures in the Tohoku region will be incorporated into the Shinkansen network.

What is the Uetsu Shinkansen?

The Uetsu Shinkansenthe planned Shinkansen route that will connect Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture to Aomori City in Aomori Prefecture, passing through the vicinity of Niigata City in Niigata Prefecture and Akita City in Akita Prefectureis the name given to

Since the line is still in the planning stages, it has not been officially decided where the stations will be located, but it is thought that the station in Toyama City will be Toyama Station, and the station in Aomori City will be Shin-Aomori Station. It is also assumed that the line from Toyama Station to Joetsu Myoko Station in Nagano Prefecture will run on the tracks of the already-opened Hokuriku Shinkansen, and from Nagaoka Station in Niigata Prefecture to Niigata Station will run on the tracks of the also-open Joetsu Shinkansen. Therefore, if the Uetsu Shinkansen is to be realized, new Shinkansen tracks will need to be laid in the sections from Joetsu Myoko Station to Nagaoka Station and from Niigata Station to Shin-Aomori Station

The new line section from Niigata Station to Shin-Aomori Station will run parallel to the existing Shirayuki Line and Uetsu Main Line from Niigata Station to Akita Station, and is expected to run parallel to the Ou Main Line from Akita Station to Shin-Aomori Station

By connecting to the Joetsu Shinkansen from Niigata Station, travel between stations on the Sea of ​​Japan side of the Tohoku region and stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, such as Tokyo Station, will be possible in a shorter time than before.The travel time between Tokyo and Sakatais expected to be approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. Currently, this takes about 4 to 4.5 hours by transferring between the Joetsu Shinkansen's "Toki" and the Hakushin Line/Uetsu Main Line's limited express "Inaho," so this will be a significant time saving.

The estimated travel time between Akita Station and Shin-Aomori Stationis about 50 minutes. The current "Super Tsugaru" limited express train takes about two and a half hours, so this new service would reduce the travel time by more than half.

It is also possible that trains could connect to the Hokuriku Shinkansen and operate direct services to Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture, Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture, or Shin-Osaka Station (assuming the extension is opened), or that trains could connect to the Hokkaido Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori Station and operate direct services to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station or Sapporo Station (same as above)

What is the basic plan route in the first place?

Shinkansen lines that currently only exist as plans, such as the Ou Shinkansen and the Uetsu Shinkansen, are called "basic plan lines." Basic plan lines are lines whose plans were established based on the "National Shinkansen Railway Development Act," abbreviated as the Zenkan Act, which was enacted in June 1970, more than 55 years ago.

The background to the establishment of the Trunk Line Act was that the Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station), which opened in October 1964, was a huge success that exceeded all expectations. The Trunk Line Act was created with the aim of spreading the benefits of the Shinkansen throughout the country. At the time the Trunk Line Act was enacted, the Tokaido Shinkansen had already opened as mentioned above, and the Sanyo Shinkansen (Shin-Osaka Station to Hakata Station) was under construction

Based on the National Highway Shinkansen Law,the Tohoku Shinkansen, Joetsu Shinkansen, and Narita Shinkansenwere officially designated as the "Basic Plan for Determining the Lines of Shinkansen Railways to be Constructed" by Ministry of Transport (*) Notification No. 17 on January 18, 1971, and Ministry of Transport Notification No. 242 on July 3, 1972, as shown in Table 1 below. These new lines were added to Japan's Shinkansen network.
*Ministry of Transport: One of the predecessors of the current Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Table 1. Routes announced by the Ministry of Transport since 1971

All the lines listed in Table 1 are already in operation, with the exception of the Narita Shinkansen, which began construction but was frozen.
However, for the Tohoku Shinkansen,construction between Morioka City (Morioka Station) and Aomori City (Shin-Aomori Station)was delayed compared to the section south of Morioka Station.
The section north of Morioka Station, along with the lines that will appear in Table 2 later, is called the "Shinkansen Development Line."

Subsequently, the Ministry of Transport issued Notification No. 243 of July 3, 1972, Notification No. 466 of December 12, 1972, and Notification No. 465 of November 15, 1973, announcing the basic plans for four routes as shown in Table 2 below

Table 2: Routes announced by the Ministry of Transport since 1972

The four lines listed in Table 2 (excluding the Sapporo-Asahikawa section of the Hokkaido Shinkansen) and the Morioka-Shin-Aomori section of the Tohoku Shinkansen had their development plans established in 1973. Collectively, thesedevelopment Shinkansen linesare called

Most of the Shinkansen lines under construction have been completed, but the Hokkaido Shinkansen section between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station and Sapporo Station is currently under construction, and construction has yet to begin on the Hokuriku Shinkansen section between Tsuruga Station (Fukui Prefecture) and Shin-Osaka Station, and the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen section between Shin-Tosu Station and Takeo Onsen Station (both in Saga Prefecture). Furthermore, the Hokkaido Shinkansen section between Sapporo and Asahikawa has not yet been planned, so it is not a Shinkansen section under construction

Ministry of Transport Notification No. 466 of November 15, 1973 designated the 11 routes in Table 3 as Master Plan Routes. The current "Master Plan Routes" is a collective term for the 11 routes in Table 3 and the Hokkaido Shinkansen between Sapporo and Asahikawa. Included in these Master Plan Routes are the Ou Shinkansen and the Uetsu Shinkansen

Table 3: Master Plan Routes Announced by the Ministry of Transport in 1973

Of the basic planned routes, only the Chuo Shinkansen had its development plan decided in 2011. Construction is underway for this Shinkansen line, which will utilize superconducting maglev trains capable of traveling at a maximum speed of 500 km/h.
However,for the other routes, more than 50 years have passed since the announcement of the basic plan, and there is still no concrete development plan, nor is there any prospect of their realization.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has created a diagram that visually summarizes the contents of Tables 1 to 3, so we will quote it here. The white lines in the diagram are the basic plan routes (only the Chuo Shinkansen is shown in brown). It is difficult to imagine a society in which all of the white line routes are realized, but at least the plans announced by the Ministry of Transport in the 1970s envisioned such a world

It is unclear whether the Ou-Uetsu Shinkansen will be realized

Will the Ou Shinkansen and Uetsu Shinkansen actually come to fruition?

As already explained, there are currently no plans to develop the Ou and Uetsu Shinkansen lines. In order to move forward towards realization, a development plan must be decided upon, meaning thatthe lines must be upgraded to the same status as the Hokkaido Shinkansen and other high-speed.

However, even with the current Shinkansen development plans established in 1973, there are still sections that remain unopened or not even under construction, more than 50 years later. In this situation, it seems unlikely that the basic plan lines will be upgraded to Shinkansen development lines (the construction of the Chuo Shinkansen was an exceptional case). Even if development plans for the Ou and Uetsu Shinkansen lines are established, it will surelybe after construction has begun on the unstarted sections of the Shinkansen development lines, or after they have opened.

In particular, the unstarted sections of the Hokuriku Shinkansennearly 30 years from the start of construction until they openare expected to takea very long time before the basic planned lines such as the Ou and Uetsu Shinkansen get their turnit will be

Even if the basic plan route somehow gets its turn, it's unclear whether the Ou and Uetsu Shinkansen development plans will materialize. Shinkansen construction is extremely expensive, and the same applies to operation and maintenance after opening. If the population along the planned route is small, and it's considered impossible to sustain the line with passenger revenue alone, then construction is unlikely to happen.

Even if the Ou and Uetsu Shinkansen lines were to be realized, there are still challenges. One ofthe issue of parallel conventional railway lines.

When the Shinkansen Line opened, most of the JR lines that ran parallel to the Shinkansen were either transferred to another company or closed. As passengers shift to the Shinkansen following the opening of the Shinkansen, the management of the parallel conventional lines deteriorates. JR is allowed to give up such conventional lines. This may seem too convenient for JR, but the rule allowing management separation was established as a reflection of the failure of the Japanese National Railways, the predecessor of JR

If the management of a parallel conventional railway line is transferred to another company, it will be operated by a third-sector company established with investment from local governments and private companies along the line,resulting in costs being borne by the local governments and other entities.

If the Ou Shinkansen is constructed, the section of the Ou Main Line between Fukushima Station and Akita Station will become a parallel conventional line, and if the Uetsu Shinkansen is constructed, the sections of the Shirayuki Line, Uetsu Main Line, and Ou Main Line between Akita Station and Shin-Aomori Station will likely be considered parallel conventional lines

on these linesthe current transportation situationand the number of local trains (express trains will disappear once the Shinkansen opens, as passengers will switch to the Shinkansen), it is likely that most of the parallel conventional lines will be separated from JR's management. My prediction is that there is a 30% chance that the section from Niigata Station to Murakami Station (Niigata Prefecture) will remain a JR line, and a 70% chance that the entire section from Niigata Station to Shin-Aomori Station will be separated from JR's management. The issue of parallel conventional lines is unavoidable.

Is there a chance that this will be partially realized?

While no decision has yet been made to abandon the construction of the Ou and Uetsu Shinkansen lines, it is also true that there is no positive sign for their realization. Furthermore, although I will omit the details, in June 2025, the then-Ishiba cabinet announced the so-called "Basic Policy Guidelines," whichthat hinted at not being committed to constructing the basic planned route as a Shinkansen (a railway capable of traveling at speeds of 200 km/h or more)included wording

Reference: (The explanation states that "(the Ishiba Cabinet) has made a policy shift away from a one-sided focus on the Shinkansen.")

Fukushima Nobuyuki Archive

Questions and answers at the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Committee. Regarding the development of railway policy in the "Basic Policy 2025" and the restoration of the Noto Peninsula, which was inspected - Fukushima Nobuyuki Archive

https://archives.fukushima-nobuyuki.com/entry/2025/06/17/141300

I participated in a question-and-answer session at the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Committee. The topics covered included the development of railway policy under the "Basic Policy for Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2025" and the restoration of the Noto Peninsula, which I inspected. You can watch the Q&A session on YouTube: www.youtube.com In eight previous sessions at the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Committee, I have pointed out that railway policy is limited to the Shinkansen and Linear Chuo Shinkansen lines and the reorganization of local railways, with no mention of conventional railways in national infrastructure investment plans. Then, at the Budget Committee meeting on February 26, I directly appealed to Prime Minister Ishiba for the realization of a medium-speed Shinkansen line as a way to enhance the functionality of conventional railways. In response to this, on the 13th, the Cabinet...

As you know, the Ishiba Cabinet has already resigned, so it's possible that a different policy will be announced in the future. However, I don't think there will ever be a Cabinet that will dare to propose that the entire basic plan route should be a Shinkansen line. I think the hurdles to building the Ou-Uetsu Shinkansen line in accordance with the 1973 Ministry of Transport announcement have become quite high

However,it is possible if it is "partially".

The current Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" passes through Itaya Pass, which lies on the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

The Itaya Pass Railway tackles steep slopes and harsh weather [Fukushima and Yamagata Prefectures]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/33737

Itaya Pass, located on the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures, is served by JR East's Yamagata Shinkansen and Yamagata Line, officially the Ou Main Line. The Ou Main Line currently serves an important role, connecting the Kanto region, Fukushima, and various parts of the Tohoku region, as evidenced by the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa. However, Itaya Pass has always been known as a difficult crossing. Here we introduce the railway history of Itaya Pass. What is Itaya Pass? Itaya Pass is one of the passes near the border between Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures, crossing the Ou Mountain Range. It connects the Itaya and Osawa settlements in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. JR East's Ou Main Line...

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The Itaya Pass has long been known as a difficult section of track, and even the current Yamagata Shinkansenthe steepest gradient on any JR East line,problems caused by the natural environment. In fact, 40% of train cancellations and delays on the Yamagata Shinkansen due to rain, snow, collisions with animals, etc., occur between Fukushima Station and Yonezawa Station, including the Itaya Pass.

Therefore, there are plans to dig a long tunnel of approximately 23 km to eliminate the difficulty of the Itaya Pass. The tunnel hasthe Yonezawa Tunnel. The tunnel construction is expected to take approximately 19 years and cost 230 billion yen, but it is anticipated that the travel time for the "Tsubasa" train over the pass will be reduced by more than 10 minutes, and the stability of train operations will be improved.

While the Tsubasa Shinkansen is limited to a maximum speed of 130 km/h on the Ou Main Line section between Fukushima Station and Shinjo Station, it uses trains that can travel at 300 km/h (in the case of the latest E8 series) on the Tohoku Shinkansen line. Even between Fukushima Station and Shinjo Station, high-speed travel should be possible if high-speed tracks are prepared. Therefore,to construct the Yonezawa Tunnel to accommodate high-speed travel of 200 km/h or more. If the Yonezawa Tunnel is constructed and high-speed travel within the tunnel is realized,the Ou Shinkansen has been partially realized(regardless of whether it can be defined as the Ou Shinkansen from a legal standpoint).

The Yamagata Prefecture Alliance for the Realization of the Development of the Ou-Uetsu Shinkansen, which is made up of Yamagata Prefecture, local governments along the line, and the business community, sees the construction of the Yonezawa Tunnel as a precursor to the development of the Ou Shinkansen, and hopes to use this to help realize the Ou Shinkansen as soon as possible

Even if we do not go so far as to construct the entire Ou Shinkansen line, by making partial improvements to the Yamagata Shinkansen line, such as the construction of the Yonezawa Tunnel, it may be possible to reduce travel time and partially reap the benefits of the Ou Shinkansen line's construction

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career