KANAGAWA - The underground platform of the planned Kanagawa Prefecture Station on Japan's Chuo Shinkansen maglev line was opened to the public for the first time on October 24, offering visitors a rare glimpse of the high-speed railway project under construction in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, with demand for the tour exceeding available places by approximately 12 times.
Central Japan Railway (JR Central), which is developing the maglev line, organized the special event at the construction site of Kanagawa Prefecture Station, a provisional name for the facility that will serve as one of the stops on the railway connecting Tokyo and Nagoya.
The station's platform is being built three levels underground, where maglev trains will eventually stop to pick up and drop off passengers. During the event, visitors were allowed to enter the underground construction area and see the platform structure taking shape.
Unlike conventional railway stations, the maglev station will feature walls separating the tracks from the passenger platforms, with openings in the walls serving as boarding entrances. The platforms are being constructed behind these walls on both sides of the track area.
The event attracted considerable interest, with applicants competing in a lottery that had an acceptance rate of roughly one in 12. Successful applicants joined local elementary school students for a guided tour of the construction site.
Visitors were also given the opportunity to write messages on the walls facing the tracks, creating a lasting record of their visit in an area that will no longer be accessible to the public once the station begins operating.
One local elementary school student expressed surprise at the progress of construction, saying, "I was amazed to see how much has already been completed."
The Chuo Shinkansen project is intended to introduce commercial high-speed maglev services using superconducting magnetic levitation technology, significantly reducing travel times between major Japanese cities.
However, the railway's opening has been delayed, and services are now expected to begin no earlier than 2036. JR Central has said it plans to announce a revised opening timetable before the end of 2026.
The public unveiling of the Kanagawa station platform offered a tangible indication of progress on the project, even as uncertainty remains over when passengers will be able to use the new railway.
Source: TBS
