JR East Launches Large-scale Shinkansen Freight Service; Hopes to Leverage Train Network Amid Population Decline, Increasing Transport Demand

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:43 JST, April 19, 2025

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has rolled out a large-scale freight transport using dedicated Shinkansen bullet train cars, seeking to capture significant demand from corporations and other businesses.

Previously, Shinkansen freight transport was limited to small quantities within the food vending areas on trains.

The service, which began Friday, operates between Shin-Aomori and Tokyo on the Tohoku Shinkansen line, with plans to expand to other lines including the Joetsu Shinkansen.

Freight transport using dedicated cars is scheduled for every Friday on the Tohoku Shinkansen. Two of the 10 cars in each train will be allocated for freight, with packages loaded in the space between the seats.

A single train reportedly has a maximum capacity of 200 cardboard boxes, each with total dimensions of about 120 centimeters. Corporations and businesses can expect usage fees of about ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 per box.

Having already modified some train cars by removing all the seats, JR East intends to operate Shinkansen trains formed exclusively of dedicated cars. Looking ahead, the company has an annual sales target of ¥10 billion.

On Friday, the press was shown how the cargo is unloaded from the Shinkansen cars at Tokyo Station. This initial delivery included scallops from Aomori Prefecture and dried wakame seaweed from Iwate Prefecture, which were then sold at station kiosks later that day.

In preparation for an expected decrease in passenger numbers stemming from population decline, JR companies are looking into novel business opportunities leveraging the Shinkansen network.

West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) and JR Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) are also working on transporting freight using Shinkansen trains. Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) is also developing a service to use Shinkansen cars as event venues, which has hosted fan events for young pop stars and professional wrestling shows.