TOKYO - Central Japan Railway Co. said Friday it plans to introduce its new S0 bullet train model in July 2029 on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line that runs between Tokyo and Osaka, featuring automated driving and improved safety.
The successor to the N700S will be the line's first fully redesigned model in nine years and will also run on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line that connects Osaka with Fukuoka Prefecture, according to the operator, also known as JR Central.
The S0 will be the first Tokaido Shinkansen with an automated driving system controlling the train's speed and stops after departure, with drivers remaining on board.
If problems force a train to slow down, the system will use updated information to adjust its speed and keep delays to a minimum.
"We aim to offer an even higher level of service, starting with the S0 model," JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa said at a press conference in Tokyo.
A new earthquake detection system will cut the time between detecting a quake and the start of braking to about one-tenth of the current level, the company said.
JR Central plans to introduce a test train with carriages in August 2028 and a total of 25 production trainsets from fiscal 2029 through the first half of fiscal 2032.
Separately, JR Central said it will raise surcharges for reserved seats on Nozomi services for tickets purchased from July 1, 2027.
An adult one-way ticket between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka will cost 15,420 yen ($98) for a reserved seat in an ordinary car during regular travel periods, up 700 yen.
It will be the first ticket price increase since Nozomi services began in 1992, apart from when the consumption tax was raised, the company said, adding that fares for nonreserved seats will remain unchanged.
