Cargo Shinkansen Makes First Shipment; Measure Aims to Address Logistics Labor Shortage

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:05 JST, March 26, 2026

A Shinkansen service dedicated entirely to freight transport made its first run on Monday on the Tohoku Shinkansen line between Morioka and Tokyo.

Previously, cargo had been loaded into only part of the train. For this service, however, all seven cars are being used, greatly increasing the train’s transport capacity.

The service is expected to help alleviate a growing shortage of truck drivers.

According to East Japan Railway Co., a Yamagata Shinkansen “E3 Series” train was modified by removing the seats from seven cars and installing belts and anti-slip devices to prevent cargo from shifting. The loading capacity is now 1,000 cardboard boxes totaling 17.4 tons, which is five times greater than before.

The train will be coupled with the passenger E5 Series “Yamabiko.” The service will, for the time being, be available only on a Tokyo-bound train running once each weekday. It will depart from the Morioka Shinkansen rolling stock center in Morioka shortly before noon and arrive at the Tokyo Shinkansen rolling stock center around 4 p.m.

The service is scheduled to handle medical supplies and electronic components, among other goods. The company aims to begin similar cargo services from the Sendai and Niigata areas to Tokyo.

On Monday morning, about 800 boxes of fresh and processed foods, including scallops from Iwate Prefecture, were loaded at the Morioka Shinkansen rolling stock center.

JR East began full-scale cargo transport using workspace on Shinkansen trains in 2021. Starting in April 2025, it began regular freight transport between Shin-Aomori and Tokyo, utilizing the space between seats in two of ten cars.

Behind the company’s effort to expand cargo transport services is something known as the “2024 problem,” in which regulations on drivers’ overtime hours have been tightened. The company aims to leverage the Shinkansen’s strength in transporting large volumes of cargo quickly to help alleviate the logistics industry’s labor shortage. It is said that Shinkansen trains can reduce transport time by about five hours compared to trucks.

The company expects annual revenue of about ¥10 billion through the service.

“The benefit is significant if you can get your fresh products on store shelves in the Kanto region on the day [you sent them out],” said the president of a fisheries company in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture. “We want to continue using the service.”