JR East to Launch Dedicated Baggage Shinkansen in March 2026

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) will begin operating a dedicated baggage Shinkansen on March 23, 2026.

Since April 2025, JR East has been offering a bulk transportation service using part of the passenger cabins on some temporary trains, currently transporting up to 200 boxes every Friday. The dedicated service will respond to the need for frequent transportation of large volumes of baggage.

All cars of one E3 series trainset will be modified, with all seats removed. To allow baggage to be loaded while still on roll containers, the floor has been flattened, steel plates have been laid, and anti-slip processing has been applied. Belts installed inside the cars will prevent loads from shifting. The maximum loading capacity is 17.4 tons. The design on the lead car features representative transported goods, while the windows of the intermediate cars are decorated with locally produced specialties that have mainly been shipped from each area.

The train will operate from the Morioka Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center to the Tokyo Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center in Japan. It is planned to depart shortly before noon and arrive around 4:00 p.m. It will be coupled with an E5 series “Yamabiko” service, with cars 1 to 10 used for passenger transportation and cars 11 to 17 used for baggage. The service will also transport refrigerated products using temperature-controlled equipment powered by the onboard electrical system, and in the future JR East aims to expand transportation to the Sendai and Niigata areas. Within the rolling stock centers, AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) will be used to improve efficiency in moving baggage.

In addition, a one-stop international transportation service in collaboration with the JAL Group, called “JAL de Hakobyu-n”, will launch in mid-January 2026, enabling exports from Japan to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, and Hong Kong. JR East will also pursue collaboration with the Japan Post Group.