By Shodai Niki and Mamoru Kurihara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) announced on Wednesday that the total construction cost for the Linear Chuo Shinkansen line, which will carry maglev bullet trains between Shinagawa in Tokyo and Nagoya, is expected to increase by about 4 trillion yen to 11 trillion yen.

This also represents a doubling from the initial projected cost of 5.52 trillion yen for the approximately 286-kilometer line. The company had previously forecast a rise of approximately 1.5 trillion yen compared to the initial estimate, bringing the total to 7.04 trillion yen in 2021.

The increase is mainly attributed to soaring material costs and challenges in construction.

In the second upward revision, the approximately 4-trillion-yen increase includes 1.3 trillion yen to cover soaring material, labor and other costs and 1 trillion yen as a buffer against future inflation. Additionally, 1.2 trillion yen is to cover challenges in construction, such as making tunnels in weaker-than-expected ground, and 400 billion yen is mainly for anticipated increases in material costs due to revisions to the structural design of tunnels. These estimates are based on a provisional 2035 target for opening.

"We take seriously the fact that the total construction cost has reached 11 trillion yen," said JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa, at a press conference in Nagoya on Wednesday. "On the other hand, realizing the Chuo Shinkansen project is necessary for our company to fulfill its mission of contributing to the development of Japan's major transportation arteries and social infrastructure."

The company plans to cover the increased cost through utilizing Shinkansen operating revenues and borrowing.

JR Central has not specified an opening date for the maglev line, partly due to uncertainty surrounding the start of tunnel excavation in the Shizuoka construction zone.

Niwa said, "We have factored in risks until the final stages of construction and estimated what is currently foreseeable."

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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October 30, 2025 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)

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