Japanese government mulls delaying construction on Hokkaido Shinkansen Line extension
The delay could run for a full eight years
The Japanese government announced on 8th March that it needs to delay its plan to extend the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line, Japan’s northernmost bullet train route.
The extension which would have brought the line to Sapporo may be held off for another eight years, setting completion to around March 2039.
Experts pointed out that this is partly due to issues regarding tunnel construction.
The 212-kilometer extension between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in southern Hokkaido and Sapporo, the island’s capital, was already marred by the ongoing manpower shortage in the construction sector, as well as geological challenges that include massive rock formations and soft ground.
This is problematic as tunnels make up around 80 percent of the extended segment, which will pass through areas home to the famed Niseko ski resort.
A backgrounder on the extension
In the Japanese government’s original plan, they hoped to complete the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line extension by spring of 2031.
Plans for the initiative were approved by the authorities in 2012, with the cost estimated at US$11.3 billion.
However, in December 2022, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revised the estimate to around 2.3 trillion yen due to higher material costs.
Opened on 26th March 2016, the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line currently provides a direct rail link between Tokyo and the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands via the undersea Seikan Tunnel.
