Which Shinkansen line opened in 2016 to link Shin-Aomori with Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto?
Answer
Hokkaido Shinkansen
The Shinkansen line that opened in 2016 to link Shin-Aomori with Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto is the Hokkaido Shinkansen.
The line extended Japan’s high-speed railway network northward from Honshu onto Hokkaido. Its first section opened on 26 March 2016, running from Shin-Aomori in Aomori Prefecture to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in southern Hokkaido. Through services allow trains to continue between Hokkaido and Tokyo via the Tōhoku Shinkansen.
A major engineering feature is the Seikan Tunnel, which passes beneath the Tsugaru Strait and connects Japan’s main islands by rail. The tunnel is shared by Shinkansen and conventional freight trains, so special operational arrangements are needed where the two systems use the same infrastructure.
The Hokkaido Shinkansen is not yet the same thing as a route all the way to Sapporo. The extension from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to Sapporo is a separate project, planned to open in 2031. Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto therefore remains the line’s northern operational terminus until that extension is completed.