JR Group Holds Tokyo Fair to Showcase Farm Goods Transported via Shinkansen; Trains Eyed as Additional Way to Transport Packages Nationwide

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:34 JST, May 18, 2024

Six Japan Railway (JR) group companies held a fair selling farm products and souvenirs, which were transported by Shinkansen bullet trains, at Tokyo Station on Friday.

JR group companies have begun transporting goods via Shinkansen as the number of business travelers on the high-speed train lines has not sufficiently recovered.

The JR firms aim to stimulate new demand for its services by deepening cooperation among the group companies.

The fair showcased such local specialties as Hokkaido’s garlic chives and asparagus, which were transported via the Hokkaido-Tohoku Shinkansen line, and Mie Prefecture’s Akafukumochi sweets, which arrived on the Tokaido Shinkansen line.

Regarding the transportation of packages, Shinkansen lines are now connected between Hokkaido and the Kyushu region as a result of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) joining the scheme in April.

Partly because of the “2024 problem” — in which overtime regulations for truck drivers have been tightened, affecting cargo transportation capacity — trains are being eyed as another way to transport packages.