FUKUOKA —
Kyushu Railway Co (JR Kyushu) is making final arrangements to launch operations of the Kyushu Shinkansen line between the cities of Fukuoka and Kagoshima on March 12 next year.
JR Kyushu will make a formal decision by the end of September pending consultations with local governments and West Japan Railway Co (JR West), company officials said. The date of the launch could give or take about one week, as it plans to start the service on the day when other JR group firms revise their railroad schedules in spring.
The new service connects Fukuoka’s Hakata and Kagoshima-Chuo stations. A plan is on the table to enable passengers to travel between Shin-Osaka in Osaka city and Kagoshima-Chuo stations in just over three and a half hours by Shinkansen services to better compete with airlines, the sources said.
Consultations are made necessary as local governments along the route, such as Saga and Kumamoto prefectures, have requested JR Kyushu to make more stops, making it difficult to reach the final decision.
Details such as fares and stops are expected to be decided later this year.
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