Another New HSL for Japan

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Well, the term "new line" is used loosely here, it's really a new extension. But, good news! The Hokuriku Shinkansen extension to Kanazawa is finally open for business as of this month, cutting the journey time between Tokyo and the City of Toyama on the other side of the Honshu Island by 2 hours. I will use some pictures to do the talking this week, because my level of knowledge of Japanese high speed railways is relatively bare (although probably better than the average Joe). This map below shows what's up with post.

Hokuriku Shinkansen map.png
"Hokuriku Shinkansen map" by Hisagi (氷鷺) - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Since the Hokuriku Shinkansen goes through some quite mountainous terrain, a lot of tunnels and viaducts have to be deployed, and the trains can't go crazy fast like some of the flatter areas. Series E2, E7/W7 are currently operating services on this line. They operate up to a, still very respectable, top speed of 260 km/h or 162 mph (Amtrak is now aiming at 165 for stretches of the Northeast Corridor). Slightly different than other Shinkansen Lines, the Hokuriku Shinkansen is jointly operated by two railway companies, the East and West Japan Railway Companies.

So below I'm gonna post some construction and equipment pictures from Wikipedia.

The Viaduct of Hokuriku Shinkansen-1.JPG
"The Viaduct of Hokuriku Shinkansen-1" by I, Genppy. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

E7 F4 Asama 522 Omiya 20140419.jpg
"E7 F4 Asama 522 Omiya 20140419" by Tokyo Sakura - JR-East series E7 at Omiya. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

N11 Asama 514 Tokyo 20020601.jpg
"N11 Asama 514 Tokyo 20020601" by DAJF - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

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