Chuo Shinkansen (Linear)

A superconducting magnetic levitation railway planned to link Shinagawa and Nagoya across 286 kilometres in as little as 40 minutes at a top speed of 505 km/h. Around 86% of the route runs underground, including the Southern Alps Tunnel at depths up to approximately 1,400 metres. After Shizuoka Prefecture approved its section in July 2026, full-line construction moved forward; the earliest opening for the Shinagawa–Nagoya segment is now 2036.

Forty Metres Down in Shinagawa, Then the Alps

Forty metres beneath Shinagawa Station, directly below the Tokaido Shinkansen platforms, the future platforms of the Chuo Shinkansen are under construction. The line uses superconducting magnetic levitation — the car floats above its guideway on a magnetic field — to reach a top speed of 505 km/h. Between Shinagawa and Nagoya, 286 kilometres apart, the fastest non-stop journey is planned to take just 40 minutes, cutting a trip that now takes roughly 90 minutes on the Tokaido Shinkansen “Nozomi.” The full alignment from Shinagawa to Osaka measures 438 kilometres. JR Central is the developer and future operator of the project.

About 86% of the entire route runs in tunnels — a proportion unlike any railway previously built in Japan. The deepest section passes beneath the Southern Alps mountain range at depths reaching approximately 1,400 metres, where rock pressure is extreme and conditions are without precedent in Japanese civil engineering. Intermediate stations are planned in Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Gifu prefectures along the way to Nagoya.

The Shizuoka Problem and the Path to 2036

Construction of the Chuo Shinkansen was stalled for years at the Shizuoka section. The prefecture’s concerns centred on the potential effect of tunnel drainage on the flow of the Oi River and on local ecosystems. Negotiations between JR Central and Shizuoka Prefecture ran for years without resolution. In July 2026, Shizuoka’s governor officially approved the start of construction on that section, clearing the last major obstacle to full-line construction.

Even so, the Southern Alps Tunnel alone is expected to take more than a decade to complete. The opening of the Shinagawa–Nagoya segment has been pushed back to 2036 at the earliest — roughly ten years later than the original 2027 target. The extension west of Nagoya toward Osaka would follow at a date further still.

Summary

The Chuo Shinkansen is among the most ambitious infrastructure projects in postwar Japan: 286 kilometres at up to 505 km/h, 86% underground, punching through the Southern Alps at 1,400-metre depths. With Shizuoka’s construction approval secured in July 2026, full-line construction is now underway, but the earliest opening for the Shinagawa–Nagoya section remains 2036. Much of this railway will be invisible when it finally opens — swallowed by mountains and urban substructure alike. Yet the engineering ambition underground is already shaping the surface around Shinagawa Station, where the city is reorganising itself around a terminus that does not yet carry a single passenger.

Related: Tokaido Shinkansen / Takanawa Gateway Station

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