JR West to develop dual-gauge Shinkansen bogie

摘要

March 14 2015 sees the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Nagano to Kanaz-awa, when the Series E7 and W7 train-sets belonging to JR East and JR West will begin operating through services between Tokyo and Kanazawa. Work is already underway on the next section from Kanazawa to Tsu-ruga via Hukui, although this is not expected to be completed until 2026. The long-term strategy envisages that the Hokuriku Shinkansen will eventually be extended to Osaka, but the third phase has not yet been approved by the government pending a decision on the preferred alignment.