Ruling Bloc Decides on Hokuriku Shinkansen Route in Kyoto

Tokyo, July 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s ruling coalition Wednesday decided on the proposed Katsuragawa route in Kyoto for the planned extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line between Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture.

The Katsuragawa option, which would pass near Katsuragawa Station, about 5 kilometers west of Kyoto Station, was one of the two proposed for the so-called Obama-Kyoto extension route linking the central and western Japan stations via the Fukui city of Obama and the city of Kyoto.

The decision was made at a joint committee meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. The other option would run beneath Kyoto Station in a north-south direction.

The committee requested an expansion of fees to be paid by the Hokuriku Shinkansen operators to alleviate the financial burden on local governments related to construction costs. The LDP and the JIP will draw up the Katsuragawa plan at a project team meeting and ask the central government to adopt it.

At the previous joint committee meeting Friday, the LDP proposed the two options, while the JIP supported the Katsuragawa plan and the Maibara route. The Maibara route would connect Tsuruga with Maibara Station in Shiga Prefecture, east of Kyoto, allowing Hokuriku Shinkansen trains to utilize the Tokaido Shinkansen Line tracks from Maibara to reach Shin-Osaka.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]