Summary of Key Developments in Shizuoka, Kanagawa, and Yamanashi
Maglev Project Hits New Milestones Across Japan: Shizuoka Breakthroughs, Kanagawa Shield Ready, Yamanashi Station Groundbreaking — and a “Doctor Yellow” Robot for Maintenance
Shizuoka: Legal/administrative steps toward a start
Jan. 24: Shizuoka Prefecture and JR Tokai, with MLIT present, signed a compensation memorandum covering how potential impacts on Oi River basin water use would be handled in connection with the Southern Alps Tunnel. This was a major step for Shizuoka, the only prefecture on the Shinagawa–Nagoya section where construction had not begun.
Feb. 13: The prefecture and JR Tokai signed a Nature Environment Conservation Agreement for yard development (office installation, grading, and related land preparation). JR Tokai had requested consultations in Aug. 2025.
Yard development is preparatory work, but it is treated as a key prerequisite for full-scale construction. Vice Governor Sho Hiraki emphasized the importance of formalizing commitments in writing and said the pace reflects long-running accumulated discussions, not a rush that would compromise technical review.
Kanagawa: Underground station build + shield machine readiness
Feb. 27: JR Tokai completed assembly of a shield machine that will bore the Second Metropolitan Area Tunnel (~3.6 km) from the planned Kanagawa Prefecture Station in Sagamihara toward Nagoya and showed it to the press.
The station near Hashimoto (JR/Keio) has been under construction since 2019. The excavated “outer frame” is about 680 m long, up to 50 m wide, and about 30 m deep; the station structure is being built inside and will be backfilled after completion.
Planned layout: two platforms / four tracks. Trains stop on secondary main lines; main lines are for high-speed pass-through at 500 km/h (relative 1,000 km/h when trains pass), requiring strong platform shielding against pressure waves.
Station construction is scheduled through March 2027. Schedule revisions remain possible depending on site conditions, with community communication cited as the operating approach.
Shield machine specifics: outer diameter ~14.0 m, length ~14.2 m, assembled underground; expected advance ~20 m/day (about 400 m/month). Safety controls emphasize strict management of excavated volume vs. removed volume to prevent over-excavation and void formation.
Yamanashi: Final station groundbreaking + access and O&M technology
Mar. 11: JR Tokai held the groundbreaking for the planned Yamanashi Prefecture Station (Kofu/Chuo area), the last of the Shinagawa–Nagoya six stations to start construction. The above-ground station is planned at ~1,200 m long and ~32 m high (four stories), with two platforms / four tracks. Construction runs through Dec. 2031.
Station-area concept emphasizes road–rail integration: proximity to a smart interchange and ring-road links, a transportation plaza, and park-and-ride circulation. Planning assumptions cite ~25 minutes to central Tokyo and ~45 minutes to Nagoya once operating.
Feb. 9: A prototype facility-inspection robot, “Minerva,” was unveiled (JR Tokai + Suzuki + Panasonic Advanced Technology). It is designed to reduce labor burden by autonomously traveling over uneven surfaces (steps, gravel) and performing camera-based inspections via a long arm; deployment would follow test-line validation.
Access planning remains a key issue: Kofu Station is about 7 km away (up to ~30 minutes by car in peak congestion). The nearest conventional rail stop is Koikawa Station on the Minobu Line (unmanned, low ridership), but expected to gain interchange importance; connectivity and potential Minobu Line constraints (including single tracking) are identified as future agenda items.
Info based on. https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/937928 Accessed 2026-03-16