China News Service, March 26. According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), from March 24, Japan's JR Hokkaido Railway Company began to use the empty seats of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to carry the goods of the large express company Sagawa Express.
Data map: On February 25, 2020, local time, the new Shinkansen N700S train in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, was unveiled to the media.
According to reports, the trains that carry out this kind of mixed transportation of passenger and freight are limited to the upward trains that run on weekdays, once a day, and the mixed-load section is from Shin-Hakodate Hokuto Station to Shin-Aomori Station.
After the goods arrive at the station, they will be delivered to the delivery address in Aomori Prefecture.
According to the report, in the past, goods transported from Hokkaido to Aomori could only cross the sea by ferry.
After the cooperation is carried out, using the Shinkansen to transport goods can save about 6 hours of time.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan stated that this is the first commercial attempt in Japan to use empty Shinkansen seats for mixed passenger and freight transportation.
JR Hokkaido Railway Company hopes to use this move to alleviate the problem of low train load factors and improve seat utilization efficiency.