The Shin-Osaka Station's improvement work has been underway since 2007 in order to increase flexibility of train operation and enhance traveler-friendly service. JR Central said the beam for newly-built platform 27 will be installed by the end of July. The operation will be performed in the midnight of weekends and Shin-Mido-Suji street under the site will be closed during the working.

The new platform 27 will be opened in the spring of 2013. At the same time, the improvement work will be completed and Shin-Osaka Station will be reborn as more comforting one.

The Shinkansen train schedule will have no change with this construction work because the operation will be taken during off-hours of the service.

JR West said trains arriving/departing at platform 12 of Hakata Station will be moved to platform 14 on June 27, 2010, due to construction of Kyushu Shinkansen.

JR West said trains arriving / departing at platform 14 will be moved to platform 12 on March 31, due to construction of Kyushu Shinkansen.

JR West said that they equipped Shin-Yamaguchi Station with barrier-free facilities and it has been in-service since March 2, 2010.

This improvement project was for the second and third floor in that station and the access to the ground floor was not improved. Passengers in wheelchairs are still required to use a freight elevator from the ground floor to the third floor.

Major Improvement

• instalation of 2 elevators between concourse (2F) and platform (3F)
• instalation of doubled handrails and acoustic guiding equipments for stairs between concourse (2F) and platform (3F)
• instalation of multifunctional toilet
• instalation and renovation of textured paving blocks

New moving safety fences on Shin-Yokohama Station's platform will be built on 1.7 m closer to the train tracks and the platforms will grow wider.

JR Central announced that they will replace safety fences on platform No. 2 and 3 in Shin-Yokohama, because the existing fences were installed about 24 years ago and are now on the time for replacement. And they said that the new ones will be placed 1.7 m closer to the train tracks, because no trains pass this station at high velocities. With this replacement, platforms get more 1.7 m width and the usable areas within the fences are enlarged 30%. They said it will help to decrease congestion on the platform.

The new fence will be installed, however, at the same place of existing ones around the stopping place of car 11 for a while, because there is the door positions difference between series 300 cars and the others. Yes, it will be for a short while. When series 300 cars end its service within Tokaido Shinkansen, the odd installation will be resolved.

The new moving safety fences on platform No. 2 will start to use in March, 2010 and on platform No. 3 in July, 2010.

JR Central released the details on their plan about Shin-Osaka station improvement works now underway. Especially it's striking that "Central Entrance" for entering only and "Central Exit Gates" for exiting only will be "Central Gates" and "South Gates" which are both entering and exiting traficable. This improvement will bring trafic changes around those gates. Though whole works will finished in 2013, modified gates will be in-service since the end of their fiscal year 2012.

For more information, please check the page of the news release of JR Central [written in Japanese].