SAPPORO - The long-delayed extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo is facing further setbacks, with the opening now pushed back by more than a decade and total project costs projected to more than double, even as construction steadily advances on the ground.
Nearly 10 years have passed since the Hokkaido Shinkansen made its high-profile debut, linking Honshu and Hokkaido through the Seikan Tunnel in March 2016, when a special service emerged from the tunnel to mark the arrival of bullet trains on the island.
At the time, the plan envisioned trains running between Sapporo and Tokyo in 4 hours and 49 minutes within five years, but the Sapporo extension has since been delayed repeatedly and is now expected to open no earlier than fiscal 2038.
At the same time, total project costs are forecast to exceed twice the original estimate, prompting questions about why expenses have ballooned and how the massive undertaking is progressing.
East of Sapporo Station, stretching toward Naebo Station, a massive structure is under construction that will serve as a dedicated Shinkansen rolling stock depot for Sapporo, a site that a year ago held little more than rows of construction vehicles.
For the first time, television cameras were allowed inside the depot construction site, where the facility is being built on elevated structures, an arrangement with few precedents nationwide for Shinkansen depots.
Inside a vast sheltered space, Shinkansen trains will eventually be parked, with the area beyond set to become JR’s Sapporo Shinkansen Station, while a 1,344-meter-long depot will be located on the eastern side of the station, spanning National Route 5 and Soseigawa-dori.
The depot is designed to accommodate three full train sets side by side, with elevated structures around 60 percent complete as of January 1st, and work now progressing on the slabs that will form the track bed for Shinkansen operations, according to officials from the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency.
Once completed in about two years, the depot will be covered by a protective shelter to guard against snow and harsh weather, a shape that has already earned it the nickname “an eel’s sleeping quarters” among rail enthusiasts.
The route between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Sapporo spans roughly 212 kilometers, with about 80 percent running through tunnels, leading some to dub it the “mole Shinkansen.”
One of the largest challenges is the Satsutari Tunnel, which cuts beneath Otaru and Sapporo and stretches more than 26 kilometers, where excavation continues around the clock, with rock blasted twice a day and carried out by conveyor belts.
From the tunnel entrance in Teine Ward’s Kanayama district, work has advanced about 1.2 kilometers toward Otaru, with the tunnel’s basic shape largely complete despite the absence of tracks or rivers at this stage.
Overall progress on the Satsutari Tunnel stands at just under 60 percent, with construction now running about three years behind the original schedule, as crews reinforce tunnel walls by inserting bolts at regular intervals, allowing excavation to advance by up to six meters per day.
According to the railway agency, excavation has been completed in 10 of the 17 tunnels along the route, but progress has not been uniform, with major rock formations discovered in tunnels such as the Yotei Tunnel in the Shiribeshi region, significantly complicating construction.
Rising material prices, higher labor costs, and tighter regulations on workers’ hours have further prolonged the project, pushing the estimated total cost from an initial 1.67 trillion yen to more than 3.5 trillion yen in the latest projections.
For local governments, the cost increase has brought fresh concerns, particularly in towns like Yakumo, where a planned station tentatively named “Shin-Yakumo Station” will be located about three kilometers from the town center.
Under the current framework, two-thirds of the construction costs excluding JR’s loan payments are covered by the national government, with the remaining third borne by Hokkaido and municipalities along the route.
Yakumo Mayor Toshimi Mantani said the town had initially expected to shoulder around 800 million yen, but that figure is now projected to rise by roughly 400 million yen to about 1.2 billion yen.
While the station is expected to place Yakumo within about 50 minutes of Sapporo and directly connect the town to Tokyo, with officials envisioning Japan’s first Shinkansen station “in the middle of a ranch,” the burden of local infrastructure development, including water and sewer systems around the station, is weighing heavily on the municipality.
Mantani said Yakumo and other communities along the line plan to urge the national government to accelerate the project and reduce local financial burdens as much as possible.
Among local residents, anticipation and unease coexist, with longtime restaurateur Naoki Shinohara recalling how he created an original curry inspired by Yakumo a decade ago, eager for the day the Shinkansen would arrive, only to see the timeline pushed back again.
Shinohara said he still struggles to reconcile the idea of delays driving money out of the town, but hopes increased tourism will eventually materialize, adding that he wants to stay optimistic despite the uncertainty.
As questions persist over whether costs will rise further and whether Sapporo can indeed be linked to Tokyo within the next 12 years, construction on the Hokkaido Shinkansen continues amid mounting challenges.
According to broadcasters, the 212-kilometer route between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Sapporo includes 17 tunnels, with estimated travel times of about 25 minutes to Kutchan, 50 minutes to Yakumo, and around 1 hour and 5 minutes to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto.
Yakumo, which faces a severe shortage of doctors, is also hoping that becoming a day-trip distance from Sapporo will make it possible for physicians to commute, potentially easing local healthcare shortages.
Commentators noted that while dramatically shorter travel times could boost exchanges between regions, the project’s swelling costs, now exceeding Hokkaido’s annual budget of roughly 3 trillion yen, have elevated the Shinkansen extension into a major political issue for the region, underscoring the need to balance convenience, safety, and fiscal responsibility as the project moves forward.
Source: HBCニュース 北海道放送
