Construction Starts On New Haneda Airport Train Line

A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently in Tokyo to mark the start of construction for a new train line connecting Tokyo Station and the capital's Haneda airport that will begin service before March 2032, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: The new line will begin service two years later than initially planned.

The new airport line, to be operated by East Japan Railway Co., will allow passengers to travel the approximately 14-kilometer journey in 18 minutes without the need to switch trains, compared with about 30 minutes on existing lines.

The company will build a new station in an underground area between the airport's Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, with the project to cost 280 billion yen ($2 billion) in total.

The new line will "play a major role in (our service) network in the metropolitan area in the future," JR East President Yuji Fukasawa said at the ceremony.

The new line will begin service two years later than initially planned. JR East is considering connecting the new line to the Yamanote Line for Shinjuku and Rinkai Line for the Odaiba area, Mainichi Japan also reported.

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