The District of Joban Tohoku Shinkansen

Tohoku Shinkansen

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Tohoku Shinkansen
2022-03-08 12.43.12.png
An KCR E5 CAF Train boarding at Central South Station
General
Status Operational
Termini Central South
Fuka
Anda
Touhou
Metropolis
Stations 8
Service
Type High-speed rail
Operator(s) KCR
Rolling stock Adtranz-CAF
Former Rolling Stock Rotem EMU
History
Opened July 7, 2001
Technical
Line Length 35km
Track gauge 1,435mm
Electrification 3 kV DC
Operating speed 200km/h-300km/h


The Tohoku Shinkansen (Chinese: 東北新幹線) is a High Speed Rail operated by KCR.

The route has a total of 8 Stations.

List of Stations and service

Stop
N/A Not via
Pass
Station Name Station Name (English) Azuma Asama Komachi Hayate Hayabusa Transfers
中環南 Central South N/A N/A N/A Joestu Line
Tsz Kiu Line
Shuntien Line
North South Line
Central Light Rail Fuka Lightrail
Rigel Line
Airport Express
Seiyo Shinkansen
湘南 Shonan N/A N/A N/A
Tsz Kiu Line
North South Line
Central Light Rail
光石 Lightstone N/A N/A N/A
Rigel Line
Metropolis Line
負荷 Fuka N/A Joestu Line
Rigel Line
Airport Express
Fuka Lightrail
都心 Metropolis N/A N/A Watson Station
瑟里石礦場 Surry Quays N/A N/A N/A Kansai APM

Grundorf Express

安達 Anda N/A N/A
東方 Touhou N/A N/A N/A Joestu Line
Aozora Line
喬斯圖 Joestu N/A N/A N/A N/A Joestu Line

Route Map

TS RouteMap.png

Rolling stock

As of March 2023, the following types are used on Tohoku Shinkansen services.

  • E7 series: Asama services
  • 802 series: Azuma services
  • K3-900 series: Komachi Services
  • K5 series: Hayate services
  • K5N series: Hayabusa services


Former Rolling Stock

  • K5S series

History

The Tohoku Shinkansen has a complex history to how it formed the only Shinkansen in Joban.

By the early 2000s, the government started planning for a new express service parallel to the Joestu Line which would relieve the stress of the line and offer a more comfortable, fast and direct service towards Fuka from the eastern regions of Joban.

Joestu Express (East West Express)

Joestu Express (A merger between the Adobe Line and Aberdeen Line) is what came from the government's plan and was built and operated by Victoria Railway up until the early 2010s. Starting at Sheung Wan and ending at Adobe. In 2003, the line was extended to Central South with Sheung Wan station closing. However the line proved unpopular with commuters due to how far stations were from their KCR Counterparts and with decreasing ridership, the stretch of the line from Central South to Fuka would be closed for refurbishment.

Farewell picture of the Joestu Express at Kinstead South

The original allignment of the line from Fuka to Central South would be abandoned and later partially used by Rigel Corporation to build the Joban Light Rail, however several stations still lay abandoned at haven't been touched since closure, examples being Kinstead South and Shonan (The Tohoku Shinkansen did not reuse the original platforms)

Joestu Express Stations (When the line was still opened.)
Station Name Station Name (English) Connections Opening Date
上環 Sheung Wan 7 July 2001
中環南 Central South Joestu Line

North South Line

15 October 2005
湘南 Shonan Joestu Line Central Light Rail

North South Line

7 July 2001
鐵錠山 Iron Hill 7 July 2001
鴨巴甸 Aberdeen 7 July 2001
金斯特德南 Kinstead South 7 July 2001
負荷 Fuka Joestu Line, Fuka Lightrail

Rigel Line

7 July 2001
華生東 Watson East Watson Station 7 July 2001
奧運 Olympic 7 July 2001
阿豆比 Adobe Surry Quays 7 July 2001

Mixed Fleet Operation

An Joestu Express 6 car K-Train boarding at Shenshui Station.

Platforms used by Joestu Express at Fuka were designed for only 4 cars, but Watson East and Adobe had platforms reserved for 6 car trains, with Joestu Express running 4 and 6 car trains. 6 car trains due to the limited platform space at Fuka will terminate at Shenshui and turn back to Adobe.

Merger with Joestu Express

Victoria Railway, the operator of Joestu Express had been considered to be merged with KCRC since the early 2010s, with VR's limited resources and with fierce competition from KCRC and nearing bankruptcy, approached the Government in 2011 requesting for a merger with KCRC with the KCRC being granted a service concession to operate the VR network for an initial period of 11 years. The decision was passed by the Executive Council on 11 April 2012, and was later approved by the Legislative Council and the minority shareholders of VR (the government, which had a 75% stake in VR, did not vote).

Sleigh Liner

In 2013, KCRC would start it's redevelopment scheme of the East West Express, with a new allignment between Adobe to Aomori and connections with the Joestu Line that could allow for express services from Fuka to Touhou, shortening travels times by 3-4 times. It would be decided to run a limited time service in Christmas 2014 to test if services in the long-run could be viable. The service would commence in Decemember of 2014 and was named the Sleigh Liner. Plans were also made to rename the service to Tsubasa once Christmas ended. It would be concluded that services were viable and soon this new line would be renamed to the Tohoku Shinkansen with connections to the Joestu Line removed and a new line extending from Aomori to Touhou.

Sleigh Liner
Station Name Station Name (English) Connections Opening Date
負荷 Fuka Joestu Line, Fuka Lightrail

Rigel Line,Airport Express,Joestu Express

16 December 2015
阿豆比 Adobe Joestu Express 16 December 2015
東方 Touhou Joestu Line,Aozora Line 16 December 2015