Opening Date Set for Hokuriku Shinkansen Extension; Trains to Run between Kanazawa and Tsuruga from March 2024

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:50 JST, August 30, 2023

An extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line between Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, will open on March 16, 2024, JR West and JR East announced Wednesday. The route will include Fukui City, the capital of Fukui Prefecture. Travel time between there and Tokyo will be reduced to less than three hours, with the fastest train taking 2 hours and 51 minutes, about 30 minutes less than the current fastest trip, which involves taking a Tokaido Shinkansen and a limited express train.

According to the announcement, there will be 14 trains a day between Tokyo and Tsuruga. With the opening of the new service, limited express trains such as Thunderbird and Shirasagi will no longer operate between Kanazawa and Tsuruga.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Kanazawa opened in 2015; the entire line, which connects to Osaka is expected to open in 2046.