Commuter Shinkansen

[Khaul]

Hi Everyone,

 

Do you know the top speed the shinkansen gets from Shinagawa to Shin-Yokohama? Also, do you know passenger statistics from Tokyo and Shinagawa to Shin-Yokohama? My guess is very few people would use the shinkansen for commuter trips, but who knows.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Pablo

[railsquid]

No idea on either, but I do recall someone I knew who lived near Shin-Yokohama seriously considering using the Shinkansen to commute with. I imagine there are a few people using it, it would be convenient if you live near Shin-Yokohama  and need to get to somewhere convenient to Shinagawa or Tokyo

 

I also read something recently about a hand-wavy plan to add a Shinkansen stop at Musashi-Kosugi once the linear Shinkansen is opened, as there would be more slots available for commuter traffic.

[bikkuri bahn]

Max speed is either 200 or 210km/h, whether the speed is reached depends on the ATC system (i.e. traffic conditions). Whether people use that stretch for commuting to work is entirely dependent on whether their employer is willing to subsidize the premium over the amount required for a zairaisen commuter season ticket.

[trainsforever8]

As a JR pass holder I was encouraged by the station employees to use it like a commuter train when I wanted to go to Yokohama 

[Madsing]

I do not live in Japan, but my company has an office near the Shin-Yokohama station. Every other month I work from there for a few days and we always use the Shinkansen as a fast way to get to Shinagawa or Tokyo (we usually don't purchase reserved seats). One of our employees lives in northern Tokyo and commutes using the Shinkansen every day. This is sponsored by the company.

[bikkuri bahn]

According to the Toyokeizai Online, in 2017, there were 6146 commuter pass holders using the Tokaido Shinkansen alighting at Tokyo Station daily, and  3716 at Shinagawa.  Likely most came from stations such as Odawara and points further west (especially Mishima), but probably a few from Shin Yokohama (via the Yokohama Line) who want to avoid taking the Toyoko Line or the heavily impacted Den-en Toshi Line from their suburban home to central Tokyo.  

Edited July 16, 2019 by bikkuri bahn

[Kiha66]

When I vised Tokyo from Yokohama the easiest way was via the normal commuter trains.  Coming back the cape gauge lines were stopped (Aug 4, 2015 power outage) so I had to take the Shinkansen to Shin-Yokohama, then the blue line and a looooot of walking back to Yokohama proper.  While the shinkansen was much faster than the standard commute, the hassle of getting to and from the station meant very few seemed to use it to get around.  Even when every other line was down, people seemed to choose taxi and buses over shinkansen for some reason.  It was only me and a few stewardesses(?) aboard, who were very helpful in letting me know which stop was mine.

 

 

[Khaul]

Thanks everyone for the answers. Do you perhaps also know about how many people would be using the Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto? The JR West rapid service is fast, cheap and excellent.

[bikkuri bahn]

2 minutes ago, Khaul said:

Thanks everyone for the answers. Do you perhaps also know about how many people would be using the Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto? The JR West rapid service is fast, cheap and excellent.

Tourists with a JR Rail Pass?  The Shin Kaisoku is an excellent, frequent service, takes you right into Osaka (Umeda) and the ingress and egress involved in using the separate shinkansen platforms/ticket entrances vis a vis other trains is too much a bother for the average person.

[railsquid]

I stayed in Osaka once near Tennoji (back when I was eligble for a pass) and found the Kansai airport express a very convenient way of getting back from Kyoto. The ticket inspector was a bit taken aback when I said I wasn't going all the way to the airport.

 

IIRC the Kokura-Hakata route has a bit of competition between Shinkansen and JR Kyushu.

[Khaul]

I like your signature, squid 😀

[RossDensha]

16 hours ago, railsquid said:

I stayed in Osaka once near Tennoji (back when I was eligble for a pass) and found the Kansai airport express a very convenient way of getting back from Kyoto. The ticket inspector was a bit taken aback when I said I wasn't going all the way to the airport.

 

Does the Narita Express also work like this, in that you can get on in let's say Yokohama and catch the Narita Express to Tokyo? (Yes, I know there are regular trains that go here, just a poor example that I conjured up)

Edited July 17, 2019 by railsquid
fix quoting

[chadbag]

You can take any train for which you have a ticket.  Some are more expensive than others for the purpose due to seat reservation fees, express fees, etc.

 

JR doesn't care where you get on and off as long as the ticket for the journey is paid.   I've seen people get on and off at intermediate stations on the Narita Express.

Edited July 17, 2019 by chadbag

[miyakoji]

16 hours ago, Khaul said:

Thanks everyone for the answers. Do you perhaps also know about how many people would be using the Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto? The JR West rapid service is fast, cheap and excellent.

 

16 hours ago, bikkuri bahn said:

Tourists with a JR Rail Pass?  The Shin Kaisoku is an excellent, frequent service, takes you right into Osaka (Umeda) and the ingress and egress involved in using the separate shinkansen platforms/ticket entrances vis a vis other trains is too much a bother for the average person.

 

Also if they're still using some 223 series on shin-kaisoku service, the view from behind the driver's compartment is quite good 🙂

[railsquid]

IIRC the Narita Express is reservation only, which limits its usefulness as a hop-on train for spontaneous rail pass travellers.

[chadbag]

22 minutes ago, railsquid said:

IIRC the Narita Express is reservation only, which limits its usefulness as a hop-on train for spontaneous rail pass travellers.

 

My personal experience has been that I can usually show up and get a reservation (assuming not totally full) up to a very short while before the trains leave.  I've done this a lot with Shinkansens as well as the Narita Express.  Train leaves at 10:15 -- show up at 10 and run in and quickly get a seat reservation ticket.

 

But you are right, not as easy as a commuter or really spontaneous, run up to the train at the last minute, thing.

[Khaul]

On 7/17/2019 at 12:20 PM, miyakoji said:

 

 

Also if they're still using some 223 series on shin-kaisoku service, the view from behind the driver's compartment is quite good 🙂

 

Goodness me, yes! But I have always seen those seats are always taken by seemingly crazy people. I didn't want to mess with them.

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

From my memories of a few years ago, school students were using Shinkansens to travel between Osaka and Kyoto,

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

 

[Shinkansenrailfan]

Maximum speed between Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama is around 210km/h. Tried taking the Shinkansen between the 2 stations for fun and tracked the speed 

[Shinkansenrailfan]

On 7/16/2019 at 5:27 PM, Khaul said:

Thanks everyone for the answers. Do you perhaps also know about how many people would be using the Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto? The JR West rapid service is fast, cheap and excellent.

Definitely. I would always take advantage of my Rail Pass and take the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka every time I get a chance to, haha