Narita Shinkansen
.svg){kind=logo} Narita Shinkansen
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| Route length: | 65 km |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Power system : | 25 kV 50 Hz ~ |
| Top speed: | 200 km / h |
The Narita Shinkansen ( Japanese. 成 田 新 幹線 ) was a planned Japanese high-speed line between Tokyo and Narita Airport . Construction began in 1974, but had to be stopped again in 1983 due to massive protests by the population. With the official cancellation of the project in 1987, the Narita Shinkansen is the only planned Shinkansen route to date whose implementation has been canceled.
history
When the first Sato Cabinet decided to build Narita Airport in 1966 , plans also envisaged a railway connection to the new airport, located just under 50 km east of downtown Tokyo, which should be in operation on the planned opening date in 1972. First, two conventional lines were examined, one of which would be operated by the Japanese State Railways (JNR) and one by the Keisei Electric Railway Company . However, the planning had not yet been completed for the airport to open.
Keisei already had a connection with the Keisei Line from Ueno to Narita city center (around eight km from the airport) and therefore applied for the construction of a branch to the new airport in 1969. Planning was approved in 1970 and the 7.2 km long junction was completed in 1972. However, the opening of the airport was postponed to 1978 due to considerable difficulties in acquiring land and massive resistance from the local population. The Keisei route also had another problem: the airport train station was built between Terminals 1 and 2, so that passengers had to transfer to buses for the last few meters to the terminal building. Although the transfer only took a few minutes, the connection was very unpopular with passengers, as the Skyliner connection from Keisei was hardly faster than shuttles from Tokyo, which also stopped right in the center of Tokyo (Ueno station is northeast of the center ).
JNR had started planning a high-speed line in parallel with the investigations into connecting the airport to the conventional rail network . The plans were approved in 1972 and envisaged a 65 km long route with a stop in Chiba New Town and a travel time of around 30 minutes. Construction began in 1974, but as with the airport itself, there were massive protests from residents and especially local farmers due to the feared environmental pollution and expropriation plans. The construction work therefore dragged on until it was stopped in 1982. Up to this point in time:
- a 9 km long section from the airport in the direction of Tokyo to Tsuchiya, Narita
- the underground airport train station under Terminal 1
- underground construction work at Tokyo station
After the construction moratorium in 1982, alternatives for connecting the airport to the rail network were examined. The expert commission proposed three possible solutions, two of which were conventional rail lines and an interim solution pending resumption of construction work for the Narita Shinkansen. However, none of these proposals were implemented.
Due to the extreme debt situation of JNR and the unbroken resistance of the population, when JNR was privatized and split up in 1987, it was decided not to transfer the Narita Shinkansen to the successor companies, but to officially abandon the planning. This makes the Narita Shinkansen the only Shinkansen plan that has been abandoned.
Projected route
The Narita Shinkansen was supposed to end underground at Tokyo Station in Tokyo. From there it should run underground to Etchūjima . Then it should be run parallel to the Tōzai line of the Tōkyō Metro to Funabashi , from where it should again run underground to Shiroi . The plans then included a stop in Chiba New Town , the only stopover. At the Chiba New Town Zentrum station, there is still an area free for the Shinkansen station. From Chiba New Town, the Narita Shinkansen was to run through Narita to the new airport, where its terminus was built underground under Terminal 1.
The Narita Shinkansen trains should take around 30 minutes at a maximum of 200 km / h for the entire route. The later introduced Narita Express (N'EX) takes about 53 minutes from Narita to Tokyo.
The depot was planned near Shimōsa-Manzaki station on the Narita line . The trains of the Narita Shinkansen were to reach the depot via a single-track connection comparable to the Hakata-Minami line .
Reuse
After the official demolition of the Narita Shinkansen project, the Ministry of Transportation announced in 1988 that the unused underground airport station would be made accessible to Keisei and JR East . Narita Airport Rapid Railway Co., Ltd. was appointed for the necessary renovation work and the connection of the route built for the Shinkansen to the Keisei and JR East lines. established with capital from JR East and Keisei. This made it the first public-private partnership in the Japanese railroad sector. The renovation work started in March 1989 and on March 19, 1991 the first trains from JR East and Keisei were able to stop at the underground airport station. In December 1992 the station under Terminal 2 went into operation.
Since Keisei already had an airport connection, the Skyliner trains only use the Narita Shinkansen route shortly before the old Keisei airport station. The JR East trains, on the other hand, use almost the entire 9 km route that was built for the Narita Shinkansen. With the commissioning of the new route, JR East introduced the Narita Express, which is in direct competition with the Keisei Skyliner , but is connected to Shinjuku in Tokyo .
Although the Narita Shinkansen was only built in sections, the areas already acquired and the building permits were used by other lines in various places. The planned tunnel from Tokyo station to Etchūjima was later built for the Keiyō line . In the prefecture of Chiba , an area clearance was later used for the Hokusō line .
future
Although there have been calls for a resumption of construction work for the Narita Shinkansen, completion of the route is almost impossible. In addition to the lack of political will, the alternative offers from N'EX and Skyliner have established themselves. In addition, Keisei opened the Narita Sky Access in July 2010 , which has a new, more direct route and is therefore almost as fast as the Narita Shinkansen with a travel time of 36 minutes at a maximum of 160 km / h.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ryosuke Hirota (1999): Air-Rail Links in Japan ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 810 kB). In: Japan Railway & Technology Review, No. 19, March 1999
- ↑ Aerial photo of the airport construction site. The Shinkansen tunnel, which has not yet been capped, is clearly recognizable ( memento of the original from June 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Google Maps map of the planned route
