JR East will implement a timetable revision on March 14, 2026. The main points of the revision are described here.
On the Tohoku Shinkansen, the Hayabusa No. 21, which departs from Tokyo Station at 11:56 a.m. and arrives at Shin-Aomori Station at 3:07 p.m., will be increased in frequency. The up train “Hayabusa No. 30” starting from Morioka Station will be extended to start from Shin-Aomori Station.
Yamagata Shinkansen “Tsubasa” trains will use the E8 Series, which can operate at 300 km/h. Some trains will be 4 minutes shorter. The Hokuriku Shinkansen “KAGAYAKI” will also reduce travel time by up to 3 minutes.
On the other hand, the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joetsu Shinkansen will move up or cancel trains during the last hours of operation in order to increase the number of nighttime joint operations.
As for limited express trains on conventional lines, one more “Shonan” train will depart between Tokyo Station and Hiratsuka Station on the down train. For the “Sunrise Seto” and “Sunrise Izumo” sleeper express trains, the departure time of the down train from Tokyo Station will be moved up from 21:50 to 21:26 (up to Hamamatsu Station).
On the Chuo Line Rapid and Ome Line, where platform doors are scheduled to be installed, and on the Nambu Line, where one-man operation has been in place since the 2025 revision, the stopping time will be adjusted to ensure stable operation. Prior to the installation of platform doors, all trains bound for Otsuki and Kofu that operate to/from Hachioji, Toyota, and Tachikawa stations will depart from/arrive at Takao Station.
On the Yokohama Line and Negishi Line, one-man operation will begin from the revision (only 8-car trains on the Negishi Line). Some early morning trains departing from and arriving at Higashi-Kanagawa Station will be extended to depart from and arrive at Sakuragi-cho Station. On the Musashino Line, direct trains to Tokyo Station will be increased during the morning hours on weekends and holidays, and the number of section trains between Nishi Funabashi Station and Kaihin Makuhari Station on the Keiyo Line will also be increased.
In addition, all regular trains on the Kamaishi Line, including the “HAMAYURI”, will be standardized to the HB-E220 series. This means that reserved seats will no longer be available on “HAMAYURI” trains. On the Senseki Line, all trains except the Senseki Tohoku Line will be standardized to the E131 series, and one-man operation will begin. The number of trains between Aobadori Station and Tagajo Station will be increased by up to three per hour. On the Sendai Airport Access Line, rapid trains will be discontinued and replaced with local trains.
In the Niigata area, the Hetsu Main Line (between Shimbashita Station and Murakami), Shinetsu Main Line (between Naoetsu Station and Nagaoka Station), and Echigo Line (between Kashiwazaki Station and Yoshida Station) will change the way one-man trains are used, allowing boarding and alighting from all doors including those at unmanned stations. The aforementioned Senseki Line will be operated in the same way.
© Source travel watch