Private Compartments to Be Offered on Tokaido, Sanyo Shinkansen Trains

Tokyo, July 13 (Jiji Press)–New Supreme Class Cabin private compartments will be introduced on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen high-speed train services in Japan in October. Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, which runs the Tokaido trains, and West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, which operates the Sanyo trains, aim to offer higher-quality services than their Green Car premium seats. Private compartments will be brought back on the Tokaido Shinkansen line after 23 years. “We hope to offer various services to entertain customers,” JR Tokai President Shunsuke Niwa said. The private compartments in the seventh car, which can accommodate up to two people, feature reclining seats and sofas. Each offers space equivalent to about three Green Car seats. A one-way trip between Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station in the western city of Osaka will cost 60,790 yen per adult, 41,400 yen more than the Green Car fare. Private compartments for one person will also be available in the 10th car. The doors of the compartments are equipped with electronic locks, and passengers will be offered a complimentary drink and snack along the route. The private compartments are designed to allow customers to “spend time comfortably and freely without worrying about other passengers,” a JR West official said. Previously, Tokaido Shinkansen’s Series 100 trains offered private compartments accommodating one to four people for an additional fee of about 1,000 yen on top of the Green Car fare. Still, they lacked adjustable features such as lighting and air conditioning. The service was discontinued as newer Shinkansen trains were introduced without private compartments. But the companies will reintroduce them as demand for a wider variety of travel options has grown since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kazuta Fukushima, a senior researcher at Sompo Institute Plus Inc., a private think tank in Tokyo, said the initiative is a response to the future launch of the Chuo Shinkansen high-speed magnetic levitation train line, now under construction. “Customers who prioritize speed will be attracted to the maglev service,” he said. “This is an experiment to explore a new role for the Shinkansen,” he said of the Supreme Class. Supreme Class Seat semi-private compartments will also be launched in the next fiscal year. East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, is also working to enhance the travel experience. Starting next fiscal year, the company will operate an overnight limited express train named “Luna Azul,” meaning blue moon in Spanish. The aim is to stimulate tourism demand in areas along the route, by promoting trips in which the journey itself is the main attraction. From spring through autumn, the Luna Azul train will operate overnight between Shinagawa Station in Tokyo and Aomori Station in northeastern Japan. During winter, daytime services will run between Shinagawa and Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan. “We recommend watching the Sea of Japan at dawn from the train,” JR East President Yoichi Kise said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]