Expanding railway networks to a wider area (Linear Chuo Shinkansen and Hokuriku Shinkansen)

As one of the two centers in Japan, Osaka is making efforts to enhance wider railway networks in order to further the development of Kansai and the vitalization of the Japanese economy.

The LINEAR Central Shinkansen will connect Tokyo and Osaka within about an hour, uniting Japan's three metropolitan areas to form the world's largest super-megaregion with a 70-million-strong population and a gross domestic product of about 300 trillion yen (accounting for about 60% of Japan's GDP), thereby enhancing Japan's global competitiveness.

This project also multiplexes the transportation systems between the main economic arteries of Japan, Tokyo and Osaka and contributes developing a disaster resistant national structure by decreasing risks of east-west disconnection caused by earthquakes and other disasters.

Following the operation of the Tokyo-Nagoya line, we target the earliest operation of the Nagoya-Osaka line by 2037 to ensure efficiency and sufficient functionality.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen, along with the Linear Central Shinkansen, will multiplex the Tokyo-Osaka transportation system and strengthen links between Hokuriku in northern Honshu, the Kansai region, and western Japan. The Hokuriku Shinkansen's route was finalized in 2017, and initiatives are in the process to open the complete line to Shin-Osaka Station as earlier as possible.

Enhancing railway access to Kansai International Airport (Naniwasuji Line)

For that purpose, the Osaka City Government along with Osaka Prefectural Government and railway operators are pursuing the Naniwasuji Line project with the goal of starting service in the spring of 2031. The Naniwasuji Line will be connected with private railways at various stations in the city and will improve accessibility from Kansai International Airport to the area around Osaka Station, the biggest downtown area in western Japan.

In addition, the new line will make it easy to access Shin-Osaka station, where one can transfer to the Shinkansen, to sightseeing spots such as the Umekita, Nakanoshima, and Minami Area, as well as to Kansai’s tourist bases, replete with fascinating tourism resources.