In Japan, JR East (East Japan Railway Company) will move up the last trains on the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen starting in spring 2026.
Since spring 2024, on the Joetsu Shinkansen—specifically the Omiya–Takasaki and Echigo-Yuzawa–Niigata sections, which account for about 20% of the overall construction workload—JR East has advanced the last trains to secure work windows, improving construction efficiency by about 10%.
To secure work time over a wider area this time, JR East will move up by around 20 minutes the last down (away-from-Tokyo) services on the Tohoku Shinkansen between Tokyo and Morioka and on the Joetsu Shinkansen between Omiya and Echigo-Yuzawa. The affected departures from Tokyo Station are the 10:44 p.m. train to Nasushiobara, the 9:44 p.m. train to Sendai, the 8:20 p.m. train to Morioka, and the 10:28 p.m. train to Echigo-Yuzawa.
Because railway construction involves nighttime outdoor work, the number of track workers has decreased by about 20% over the past decade, and securing personnel will remain difficult. As countermeasure works are being undertaken to prepare for the risk of major earthquakes, the workload is expected to increase further.
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