By REO KOMEDA/ Staff Writer
September 10, 2024 at 16:43 JST
A testing maglev bullet train for the Chuo Shinkansen Line in Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
NAGOYA—Soft ground in Aichi Prefecture will delay completion of a tunnel for the magnetic-levitation (maglev) Chuo Shinkansen Line by more than five years to the end of January 2030.
The soft ground was found in a section of the Chukyo Area Tunnel No. 1, which will stretch 34.2 kilometers between Kani, Gifu Prefecture, and Nagoya, Central Japan Railway Co. said Sept. 9.
Specifically, JR Tokai postponed the completion date for the 4.5-km-long Saio construction area of the tunnel in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture. It was scheduled to be finished at the end of this month.
While about 70 percent of excavation work has been completed, the company said it will review construction methods after finding part of the soil softer than expected.
JR Tokai said it will carry out excavation work for the remaining 0.9-km-long portion by carefully checking geological conditions.
The maglev bullet train service will link Tokyo and Nagoya in 2034 at the earliest.
JR Tokai said the delay announced on Sept. 9 will not affect the overall schedule.
The company initially planned to open the Chuo Shinkansen Line in 2027.
It gave up on that schedule in March because the Shizuoka prefectural governor had not allowed construction work to start in the prefecture.
However, the governor, Heita Kawakatsu, resigned in April over remarks made in a speech that insulted farmers and factory workers.
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JR Tokai, Shizuoka leader still at odds over maglev line plan
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Groundwater drying up in Gifu near work for maglev tunnel
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