JR Kyushu said they decided the names of stations on Kyushu Shinkansen between Hakata and Shin-Yatsushiro. This section is being built and will go into service in March, 2011.

All stations on Kyushu Shinkansen are shown below including existing stations between Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-Chuo.

• Hakata (Fukuoka city): Through service to Sanyo Shinkansen and transferring to Hakata-Minami, Kagoshima line and subway
• Shin-Tosu ("新鳥栖", newly built in Tosu city): Transferring to Nagasaki line
• Kurume (Kurume city): Transferring to Nagasaki and Kyudai line
• Chikugo-Funagoya ("筑後船小屋", moved and renamed Funagoya Station): Transferring to Kagoshima line
• Shin-Omuta ("新大牟田", newly built in Omuta city)
• Shin-Tamana ("新玉名", newly built in Tamana city)
• Kumamoto (Kumamoto city): Transferring to Kagoshima and Hohi line and streetcars
• Shin-Yatsushiro(Yatsushiro city): Transferring to Kagoshima line
• Shin-Minamata (Minamata city): Transferring to Hisatsu Orange Railway line
• Izumi (Izumi city): Transferring to Hisatsu Orange Railway line
• Sendai (Sendai city): Transferring to Kagoshima line and Hisatsu Orange Railway line
• Kagoshima-Chuo (Kagoshima city): Transferring to Kagoshima and Ibusuki Makurazaki line and streetcars

When the entire portion of Kyushu Shinkansen opened in the spring of 2011, Tsubame trains travel between Hakata and Kagoshima-Chuo in about an hour and 20 minutes and Sakura trains travel between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chuo in 4 hours.

JR Central and JR West released the outlines of train schedule for this spring, from March 1, 2010 through June 30.

According to them, many extra trains will run during busy days and hours. They said up to 9 Nozomi services per hour on Tokaido Shinkansen and 5 direct services to Sanyo Shinkansen will be available in Friday evenings, three-day weekends and Golden Week holidays. The number of direct Nozomi services scheduled is 107 a day on average during the spring and 121 a day on average during Golden Week holidays.

Additionally more N700 series, most comfortable and energy saving vehicles on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, will go into the service and 126 Nozomi trains in N700 series will run a day at the end of June. The number of Kodama trains of 700 series is also increased.

On March 1, Nozomi 29 and 6, the last Nozomi services of 500 series, will start to run in N700 series. This means regular Nozomi service in 500 will be finished at the end of February.

Westbound Nozomi Trains newly using N700 series

• Nozomi 29, changed from 500 series to N700 on March 1 (Tokyo 12:30 → Hakata 17:44)
• Nozomi 249※, changed from 700 series to N700 on April 15 (Tokyo 18:00 → Shin-osaka 20:36)
• Nozomi 221※, changed from 700 series to N700 on June 25 (Tokyo 10:00 → Shin-osaka 12:36)
• Nozomi 263※, changed from 700 series to N700 on June 25 (Tokyo 20:20 → Shin-osaka 22:56)

※ Nozomi 249, 221 and 263 are on new schedule reviced on March 13.

Eastbound Nozomi Trains newly using N700 series

• Nozomi 6, changed from 500 series to N700 on March 1 (Hakata 07:00 → Tokyo 12:13)
• Nozomi 220※, changed from 700 series to N700 on April 15 (Shin-osaka 09:07 → Tokyo 11:43)
• Nozomi 228※, changed from 700 series to N700 on June 25 (Shin-osaka 11:47 → Tokyo 14:23)
• Nozomi 254※, changed from 700 series to N700 on June 25 (Shin-osaka 18:47 → Tokyo 21:23)

※ Nozomi 220, 228 and 254 are on new schedule reviced on March 13.

Westbound Kodama Trains newly using 700 series

• Kodama 679※, changed from 300 series to 700 on April 15 (Tokyo 18:26 → Nagoya 21:16)

※ Kodama 679 is on new schedule reviced on March 13.

Eastbound Kodama Trains newly using 700 series

• Kodama 644※, changed from 300 series to 700 on April 16 (Nagoya 10:28 → Tokyo 13:17)

※ Kodama 644 is on new schedule reviced on March 13.

Westbound Nozomi Trains using 500 series in February

• Nozomi 29 runs in 500 series daily until February 28 (Tokyo 12:30 → Hakata 17:44)
• Nozomi 193 runs in 500 series on February 5 and 10 (Tokyo 18:13 → Hakata 23:31)

Eastbound Nozomi Trains using 500 series in February

• Nozomi runs in 500 series daily until February 286 (Hakata 07:00 → Tokyo 12:13)
• Nozomi 152 runs in 500 series on February 5 and 10 (Hakata 07:12 → Tokyo 12:30)

EX-IC service will be available for Willcom users since February 14.

The service will be released on 2 models of Willcom PHS, WX340K and BAUM (WX341K).

Mobile Suica users are required to register for the special contract of View-Express (ビュー・エクスプレス特約) for JR East View Card members or the Express Reservation service membership for JR Central Express Card members.

JR Central and West released new schedule's outline of Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen which will be revised on March 13, 2010. The points of new schedule are expansion of opportunity for getting series N700 new model cars, boosting convenience of early-morning eastbound Nozomi service and growing in frequency of direct Nozomi service between Tokyo and Hakata.

All direct Nozomi services between Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen are in series N700!

The procurement of late model Shinkansen series N700 cars which are comfortable and enhancing energy conservation is now going in gear. With the new schedule, all of 101 direct Nozomi services between Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen will be in series N700. Between Tokyo and Shin-osaka, about 70% of Nozomi trains will be in series N700.

Early-morning eastbound Nozomi service gets more convenient!

In weekday early-morning, 6 Nozomi trains in row leaving Shin-osaka and Kyoto and 7 leaving Nagoya will be in series N700. The travel time of some train will be reduced and operation intervals equalized. Nozomi 298 from Nagoya will be in series N700 and its departure time of Nagoya put off by 5 minutes without change of its arrival time for Shin-yokohama, Shinagawa and Tokyo. Also Nozomi 100 from Nishi-akashi will be in series N700 and it will arrive at Tokyo 7 minutes earlier than before. It means passengers from Nishi-akashi and Shin-kobe can arrive Tokyo before 9:00 with the new schedule.

3 Nozomi services an hour between Tokyo and Hakata is aveilable in more hours!

In addition to two Nozomi services an hour between Tokyo and Hakata, some Nozomi train will be expanded its travel reach to/from Hakata. The number of Nozomi trains between Tokyo and Hakata is 57 a day and it will be 65. In more hours of morning and evening, three Nozomi services an hour between Tokyo and Hakata is available. And some Nozomi train's travel span will be shortened because it will run shortly before/after the travel range expanded Nozomi.

Revision of Hikari and Kodama services

One Kodama train between Tokyo and Shin-osaka will finish its travel at Nagoya and the following Hikari train will stop at Gifu-hashima and Maibara. The daily service of Hikari Rail Star in off season will be reduced by 5 round trips. Three Kodama trains between Okayama and Hiroshima, one between Hiroshima and Hakata and three between Kokura and Hakata will be omitted.

JR West released a special discount ticket for New Year's Day in 2010. It is Ganjitsu JR West Norihodai Ticket (元日・JR西日本乗り放題きっぷ meaning JR West Unlimited Ride Ticket on New Year's day) and it allows unlimited travel on January 1, 2010. They are offering first visit to a distant shrine and some benefit for ticket holders are available at major 10 shrines.

Though most special discount tickets released by JR West in these days are for travelers at least two persons traveling along, this ticket is good for also a traveler.

Overview of Ganjitsu JR West Norihodai Ticket

• Name of the ticket
  • Ganjitsu JR West Norihodai Ticket (元日・JR西日本乗り放題きっぷ meaning JR West Unlimited Ride Ticket on New Year's day)
• Travel dates
  • January 1, 2010
• Period of selling
  • December 17, 2009 through December 30
• maximum period of travel
  • 1 day
• Prices
  • JPY 14,000 for second class reservation seats (JPY 7,000 for a child)
  • JPY 17,000 for Green cars (JPY 8,500 for a child)
• Effects of the ticket
  • This ticket allows unlimited ride of Shinkansen, limited express, express, local trains on whole lines of JR West and Chizu Express Line.
  • The ticket for second class allows seating in reservation and non-reservation second class seats.
  • The ticket for Green cars allows seating in Green car, reservation and non-reservation second class seats.
• Effective sectors
  • whole lines of JR West
  • whole lines of Chizu Express Line
  • JR West Miyajima Ferry
• Purchasable at
  • major stations of JR West
  • major travel vendors
• Remarks
  • Seat reservation is available as many times as needed.
  • Some benefit like freely drawing omikuji and admission charge discounts are offered at major 10 shrines in JR West area.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on Tokaido Shinkansen.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on JR Kyushu lines even between Hakata and Kokura.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on Kitakinki Tango Railway (北近畿タンゴ鉄道) etc. even though express trains go directly from JR lines to those railway company lines.