Those who have been using selective boarding should pay attention to ticket routing. The separate fares for conventional and Shinkansen trains will result in minor changes in fare calculation and ticket routing. However, those who have been buying tickets and riding as indicated on the ticket do not need to understand the details of this section. Those who are familiar with the sales system and have been using tickets with ingenuity should also pay attention to the following information. For the calculation of fares between Tokyo Station and Shinagawa Station on tickets to/from “within the Tokyo Yamanote Line” and “within the Tokyo metropolitan area,” tickets for travel on the Tokaido Shinkansen in the direction of Shin-Yokohama Station are considered to be via the Shinkansen, while tickets for travel otherwise are considered to be via conventional lines. In this case, the actual route between Tokyo Station and Shinagawa Station is irrelevant, and both Shinkansen and conventional lines can be used in the same section. For tickets to/from “Yokohama City,” the center station for fare calculation is currently Yokohama Station, but only in the case of routes using the Tokaido Shinkansen via Shin-Yokohama Station, the center station is Shin-Yokohama Station. There will be no change in the range of stations that can be used to start and end a trip. In addition, the Tokaido Shinkansen will be excluded from the area where fares are calculated based on the shortest route regardless of the actual route used when passing through the city center (the so-called “Article 70 section”). Incidentally, JR East will discontinue the inexpensive “within Yamanote Line” and “train specific section” fare categories, but there will be no change in fares for those taking the Shinkansen only between Tokyo and Shinagawa stations.
Shinkansen commuter pass “FREX” will remain unchanged. Shinkansen commuter pass “FREX” and “FREX Pal” will continue to be sold based on conventional lines after the revision. With the exception of some “FREX Pal (for commuting to school)” tickets, there will be a price increase, but they will continue to be able to be used on conventional lines as before. In addition, commuter passes for conventional lines (Odawara-Numazu, etc.) that include two or more Shinkansen stops will still be able to use the parallel Shinkansen line by paying a separate express fare after the revision.
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