The is a Japanese high-speed rail line and part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), it runs along the TÃ Âhoku region of Japan's main island, Honshu. It links Tokyo in the south to Aomori in the north, with stops in major cities such as Morioka, Koriyama, Fukushima, Hachinohe, and Sendai. With a route length of , it is Japan's longest Shinkansen line and supports the network's highest operating speed, reaching on a section between Utsunomiya and Morioka.
The line opened in stages beginning in 1982 between à Âmiya and Morioka, with the final section to Shin-Aomori completed in 2010. It connects with the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which opened in 2016 and extends services through the Seikan Tunnel to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. The Tà Âhoku Shinkansen also has two mini-Shinkansen branches, the Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen, lines operating at conventional speeds, but with widened track to permit through-running by Shinkansen trainsets. Ongoing work aims to further increase operating speeds to in the future.
Four services currently operate on the route: the express Hayabusa, the limited-stop Yamabiko, and the all-stop Hayate and Nasuno. The Hayabusa is the only train that operates the length of the corridor, with the Hayabusa and Hayate providing through service onto the Hokkaido Shinkansen. As of 2021, the fastest travel times between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori are on the Hayabusa service, at 2 hours and 58 minutes. The mini-Shinkansen also provide through service to and from Tokyo via the TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen; typically, Komachi and Tsubasa trains are coupled to Hayabusa and Yamabiko trains at Tokyo and are decoupled at Morioka and Fukushima, respectively, where they continue on to their mini-Shinkansen lines.
The TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen operates with four different services:
Through trains on the Akita and Yamagata mini-Shinkansen lines also operate over TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen tracks:
One service has been discontinued:
As of March 2021, maximum operating speeds are between Tokyo and Ueno, between Ueno and à Âmiya, between à Âmiya and Utsunomiya, between Utsunomiya and Morioka, and between Morioka and Shin-Aomori.
Work is under way to raise the maximum speed on the section between Morioka and Shin-Aomori to , primarily through the installation of improved trackside noise barriers. Construction began in October 2020 and is expected to take about seven years to complete.
On 30 October 2012, JR East announced plans to pursue research and development aimed at increasing maximum operating speeds on the TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen to after 2030. Operation at this speed is dependent on the successful implementation of noise-reduction and vibration-control technologies evaluated using the ALFA-X experimental train.
Although these technologies have progressed, the introduction of commercial service at has been postponed following delays to the extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo, now scheduled for the late 2030s. As a result, the E10 series ShinkansenâÂÂplanned to enter service in fiscal 2030 and developed based on ALFA-X testingâÂÂis currently expected to operate at a maximum speed of .
Service column legend:
As of March 2024, the following types are used on TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen services:
Planning for what became the Tà Âhoku and Jà Âetsu Shinkansen progressed in parallel. Following the opening of the Tà Âkaidà  Shinkansen, and amid construction of the San'yà  Shinkansen, the National Diet passed the Nationwide Shinkansen Development Act in May 1970, which set out a framework for a nationwide high-speed rail network. That led to the Japanese government formally approved both the Tà Âhoku and Jà Âetsu routes in 1971, with construction beginning on 28 November.
However, the work advanced at a time when noise and vibration from the Tà Âkaidà  and San'yà  lines had become a growing public concern. Opposition developed along parts of the planned Tà Âhoku and Jà Âetsu corridor, especially in Saitama Prefecture and northern Tokyo (Kita Ward), where local residents and civic groups organized protests and administrative challenges that slowed construction. In response, Japanese National Railways (JNR) suspended work between Tokyo and à Âmiya and prepared to open the lines provisionally at à Âmiya while negotiations continued.
Through the late 1970s, a compromise plan was negotiated between JNR, the national government, and local authorities. A rail connection between Saitama and central Tokyo, long identified as a regional need, became a focal point of the settlement. JNR agreed to establish the connection as the Saikyà  Line, along with building the New Shuttle to serve developing areas around Saitama Prefecture. To further address community concerns over noise and vibration JNR committed to lowering operating speeds and to minimize land acquisitions by adopting a more constrained alignment approaching Tokyo, which would further reduce speeds. JNR also agreed to add a stop at Ueno Station, which was not included in the original plan. With these conditions in place, construction between Tokyo and à Âmiya begun.
The first section of the Tà Âhoku Shinkansen, between à Âmiya and Morioka, opened on 23 June 1982, followed by the Jà Âetsu Shinkansen on 15 November. During this period, passengers on the Tà Âhoku and Jà Âetsu lines coming from or bound for central Tokyo used the "Shinkansen Relay", a non-stop conventional express service operating between à Âmiya and Ueno. The line was extended south to Ueno on 14 March 1985, allowing direct transfers to the urban rail network. Meanwhile, in April 1987, JNR was divided and privatized, and operation of the line was transferred to the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
The final link into Tokyo Station opened on 20 June 1991. Later that year, as part of the privatization of JNR, the facilities of the TÃ Âhoku and JÃ Âetsu Shinkansen were transferred to JR East.
The reach of the TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen was expanded through the introduction of two mini-Shinkansen lines, created by converting existing narrow gauge lines to to allow through operation of Shinkansen services. While the track gauge is widened, the original loading gauge is retained, necessitating the use of specially designed Shinkansen rolling stock with a narrower cross-section, leading to the "mini-Shinkansen" designation. Unlike purpose-built high-speed Shinkansen lines, mini-Shinkansen lines are constrained by their legacy infrastructure to maximum operating speeds of up to . Two mini-Shinkansen routes were constructed: the Yamagata Shinkansen, which opened in 1992, and the Akita Shinkansen, which opened in 1997.
Northward extensions of the main Shinkansen line proceeded in stages. The section from Morioka to Hachinohe opened in December 2002, followed by the extension to Shin-Aomori on 4 December 2010.
Beyond Shin-Aomori, the line and some services continue as the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, which opened on 26 March 2016 via the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest undersea railway tunnel. A further extension to Sapporo is planned, with opening currently scheduled for 2039.
On 5 March 2011, Hayabusa services began operating between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori at speeds of up to using new E5 series trainsets. Following the 2011 TÃ Âhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, maximum speeds were temporarily reduced to . In 2013, the maximum operating speed was increased to .
Because the route crosses mountainous terrain, it makes extensive use of long tunnels. The Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel, completed in 2000, was briefly the world's longest land railway tunnel, before being surpassed in 2005 by the Hakkà Âda Tunnel on the extension toward Aomori. Both were later exceeded by Switzerland's Lötschberg Base Tunnel in 2007 and the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2010.
JR East began freight-only service on the line in March 2026 using a modified E3-series train with seven cars, with one frequency per weekday between Morioka and Tokyo. This was the first freight-only service in Shinkansen history, although the JR group had been carrying cargo on passenger Shinkansen trains since 2021.
On the afternoon of 11 March 2011, services on the Tohoku Shinkansen were suspended as a result of the 2011 TÃ Âhoku earthquake and tsunami. JR East estimated that around 1,100 repairs would be required for the line between Omiya and Iwate-Numakunai, ranging from collapsed station roofs to bent power pylons. Limited service on the line was restored in segments: Tokyo to was re-opened on 15 March, and Morioka to Shin-Aomori was re-opened on 22 March. The line between Morioka and Ichinoseki re-opened on 7 April, Nasushiobara and Fukushima on 12 April, and the rest of the line on or around 30 April, although not at full speed or a full schedule. The trains returned to full-speed operations on 23 September 2011.
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Tohoku area approximately east of Namie on the evening of 13 February 2021. Following the quake, infrastructure damage was discovered between Shin-Shirakawa and Furukawa stations. JR East closed the Tohoku Shinkansen between Nasushiobara and Morioka. The section between Ichinoseki and Morioka re-opened on 16 February, Sendai and Ichinoseki on 22 February, and the remaining section between Nasushiobara and Sendai on 24 February. Trains operated at 80% the usual timetable with top speeds reduced until 26 March, when repairs were completed and the normal timetable was restored.
On 6 March 2025, at around 11:30 AM, the Hayabusa-Komachi 21 train, composed of the H5 and E6 series Shinkansen, uncoupled while travelling between Ueno and Omiya stations at around 60 km/h . Both trains made an emergency stop near Nishi-Nippori Station and no one among 642 passengers was injured. According to a JR East press conference, the problem came from the Komachi side. On that day, 111 Shinkansen trains were cancelled and 166 were delayed, affecting more than 150,000 people. The Tohoku Shinkansen was not the only Shinkansen to be affected, as Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen services were also delayed. Coupled operations with Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen were cancelled. Passengers were guided to interchange at Fukushima station for Yamagata Shinkansen and Morioka station for Akita Shinkansen. It brought inconvenience for passengers, as interchanges require transferring from Shinkansen to conventional line platforms, with stations more congested than usual. A similar accident happened in September 2024, when Hayabusa-Komachi train travelling between Furukawa and Sendai stations uncoupled while travelling at more than 300 km/h. Train inspections and special measures were taken.
On 23 June 2007, 10-car set K47 was used for a special Yamabiko 931 service from Omiya to Morioka to mark the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen.
On 23 June 2012, 10-car set K47 was used for a special Yamabiko 235 service from Omiya to Morioka to mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen.