Major Maglev Excavation Begins

Feb 27, 2026 | News On Japan

KANAGAWA, Feb 27, 2026 (News On Japan) - The assembly of a massive shield machine for tunnel construction at the Kanagawa Station site of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen has been completed, with the site opened to the media as excavation prepares to move forward toward Nagoya.

The location shown to reporters is the tunnel construction site for Kanagawa Station on the Linear Chuo Shinkansen line.

At the site, assembly of the giant tunnel-boring shield machine, which began in June 2025, has now been completed. The machine is scheduled to excavate approximately 3.6 kilometers toward Nagoya in the coming phase of construction.

The Linear Chuo Shinkansen project has long faced delays due to discussions between Shizuoka Prefecture and Central Japan Railway over water resources related to the Oi River. However, progress has been made, including the conclusion of a compensation agreement in January 2026, raising expectations that construction on the Shizuoka section — previously a major obstacle to the line’s opening — will begin within the year.

Source: FNN

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