[JP] Freight Shinkansen

[k-c-p]

Technology Website Heise reports about a freight Shinkansen:

Japan uses high-speed train for freight transport
Passenger transport in Japan is declining. The railway company JR East is looking for alternatives – and is sending freight on the high-speed line.

Full article: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Japan-uses-high-speed-train-for-freight-transport-11221917.html

 

[AndrewE]

Technology Website Heise reports about a freight Shinkansen:

Full article: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Japan-uses-high-speed-train-for-freight-transport-11221917.html

The article says

The freight Shinkansen is based on the conventional passenger train Series E3. It was built between 1995 and 2010 and reaches a top speed of 275 kilometers per hour. The freight variant can be loaded with a maximum of 1000 boxes and a payload of 17.4 tons [and mentions] 7 cars.

so I wonder if that is 2 containers per wagon, 40 T gross load, so only about 15T axle load? I don't undestand the "1000 boxes" unless it is something like the Post Office's wheeled mailbag-replacements.

 

[Beebman]

I've found a video (in Japanese but with English AI audio) from a local news channel in Iwate Prefecture where the first freight Shinkansen started from:

Video description translated into English using Google:

JR East began operating Japan's first dedicated freight Shinkansen on March 23rd. This Shinkansen, which runs once a week on weekdays from Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture to Tokyo, carried fresh seafood and other goods from its first day. The purpose of JR East's first dedicated freight Shinkansen, which began operating on the 23rd, is to revitalize logistics and alleviate the shortage of truck drivers. On the first day, the 23rd, loading of cargo took place from around 10 a.m. at the Morioka Shinkansen Vehicle Center in Mitake, Morioka City. AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) were used to move the cargo. They can move items along magnetic tape laid on the floor, improving operational efficiency. Because items can be loaded while still on their cage trolleys, a large amount of cargo can be transported at once. Approximately 800 boxes filled with items such as scallops from Miyako and precision equipment were loaded onto the train. Marutomo Shimaka President Yuichi Shimaka, who was commissioned to transport the scallops, said, "The seafood catch will increase from now on, so we hope to deliver them to people in the Tokyo metropolitan area as quickly as possible." The freight-only Shinkansen is a modified version of seven cars that were used on the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa," and the exterior is decorated with Tohoku specialty products. The interior, where the seats have been removed, has a non-slip floor. It will operate coupled with the 10-car "Yamabiko" and has a maximum load capacity of 17.4 tons. JR East Marketing Headquarters Manager Yosuke Mitsui said, "We want to have many shippers use it and firmly grasp the needs of the market, and we want to work towards solving social issues." The freight-only Shinkansen then entered the platform at Morioka Station and departed for Tokyo shortly after noon along with trains carrying regular passengers. The freight-only Shinkansen will operate only once on weekdays, on the northbound section from Morioka City to Tokyo. JR East plans to expand this service to other sections of the same line, including southbound routes and other Shinkansen lines, depending on demand.

 

[eldomtom2]

Here's a good article from the Toyo Keizai in Japanese about it. I've used Google Translate to translate the sections explaining the history and economics of the service:

JR東日本｢荷物新幹線｣､白い外観に隠された意味　目標は売り上げ100億円､1編成だけで足りる？ | 新幹線 | 東洋経済オンライン

The idea of running a Shinkansen train exclusively for freight has existed for a long time. In fact, when the Tokaido Shinkansen was being constructed, a plan was proposed to operate freight trains in addition to passenger trains in order to improve the project's economic viability and make it easier to obtain loans from the World Bank.

In 1981, the "Shinkansen Rail Go Service" was launched on the Tokaido Shinkansen's "Kodama" trains to transport small packages such as documents. Later, it expanded to the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines.

Alongside the RailGo service, JR East has been exploring a more comprehensive freight transport service utilizing the Shinkansen. In 2017, they transported fresh vegetables and fruits from stations such as Niigata and Yamagata and sold them at Tokyo Station. The cargo at that time mainly consisted of locally produced goods, with the aim of revitalizing the eastern Japan area. After repeated pilot tests, in 2021, they expanded the service to include non-food items and commercialized it as "HakoByun," targeting small-lot shipments of several to 10 cardboard boxes. The RailGo service was succeeded by a new service called "HakoByun Quick."

In 2023, a special freight train was used to travel between Niigata and the Tokyo train depot. At that time, the luggage was loaded between the seats. From April 2025, regular transport of large packages between Shin-Aomori and Tokyo began. Cars 1 and 2 of the 10-car E5 series train were dedicated to freight transport to accommodate this. In this way, freight transport has gradually evolved, finally reaching the stage of developing a dedicated train.

On the 23rd, the train transported approximately 800 packages, including precision parts, fresh produce, processed foods, and bento boxes. A week earlier, we had estimated that we would transport around 600 packages on the first day, so this represents an increase of about 200 packages.

The biggest challenge in transporting cargo by Shinkansen is the cost. For example, according to JR Freight's website, the estimated cost to transport one 12-foot container from Morioka Freight Terminal to Sumidagawa Freight Terminal [in Tokyo] is 60,600 yen. One container can hold about 400 cardboard boxes.

On the other hand, the fee for Hakobyun is 104,500 yen per vehicle if you rent a vehicle. To transport 400 cardboard boxes, you would need at least three vehicles. Furthermore, JR Freight includes transportation charges (first, last, and one mile) between the collection point and the delivery point, which are within 10km of the freight station, but this is a separate charge for Hakobyun. In other words, for large quantities of cargo that would normally be transported in containers, the cost including the one-mile charge makes it uncompetitive with JR Freight. This means that Hakobyun's target market is fundamentally different from JR Freight's. The biggest advantage of freight transport by Shinkansen is speed, so its target market is for speed-oriented transportation.

However, it's uncertain whether there's enough demand to justify running dedicated trains fully loaded with cargo every day. The shortage of truck drivers is a tailwind for cargo transport services using the Shinkansen, but it's unlikely that a full-scale shift from trucks to the Shinkansen will begin anytime soon. Therefore, it's necessary to create new demand that leverages the strengths of the Shinkansen. Recently, JR East started a service in collaboration with JAL to transport cargo such as fruit from the East Japan area to overseas airports using a combination of Shinkansen and air transport, and this is also part of their efforts to create new demand.

 

[LYuen]

I've found a video (in Japanese but with English AI audio) from a local news channel in Iwate Prefecture where the first freight Shinkansen started from:

Video description translated into English using Google:

Looks like they are only shipping light weight but high value cargo. This could be quite competitive to trucks, which takes 5-10 hours for the same distance.

 

[MarkyT]

I note they're using an E3, a mini shinkansen design with a smaller body profile that could serve the gauge-converted branches as well as the JR East Tohoku mainline. The video shows the short ~150m unit coupled to a ~250m E5 unit in passenger service to form a ~400m train, just like the Akita Shinkansen E6s, the E3's successor in passenger service, which routinely join up with E5s at Morioko.