Q.Will the Linear Chuo Shinkansen come to Nara?
Published 2026-06-19
Answer
Yes, by plan. Since the 1973 basic plan, "near Nara City" has been designated an official transit point on the roughly 438 km Tokyo–Osaka route of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen. The timing, however, remains uncertain: the Nagoya–Osaka section was originally targeted for 2045, and the government aims for full opening as early as 2037 — but with the preceding Shinagawa–Nagoya section now expected only after 2034, reaching Nara could come later still.
Nara has been an official transit point since 1973
Nara being on the line is not mere hope — it is fixed in the plan. The Chuo Shinkansen basic plan of November 15, 1973 (Transport Ministry Notice No. 466) set the origin at Tokyo and the terminus at Osaka, naming "near Kofu," "near Nagoya" and "near Nara" as principal transit points. Nara has thus been formally part of the plan from the outset. The line uses superconducting maglev with a top speed of 505 km/h, and the Tokyo–Osaka distance is about 438 km.
1973basic plan set (named near Nara as a transit point)
438km — planned Tokyo–Osaka length
505km/h — maglev top speed
The station site is still undecided (3 candidates)
The plan says only "near Nara," and as of 2026 the exact station site is undecided. The route west of Nagoya is itself unfixed, still at the stage of an assumed line running via Kameyama (Mie) and Nara to Shin-Osaka. Within Nara, three sites are cited as leading candidates — around JR Narayama Station, the Hachijo–Daianji area of Nara City, and near the crossing of the Kintetsu Kashihara Line and JR Yamatoji Line in Yamatokoriyama — and JR Central has been conducting geological surveys. In a FY2017 Nara prefectural opinion survey, 58.5% of residents backed Nara City as the site for the new station.
3leading candidate sites in Nara
58.5%backed Nara City for the station (FY2017 survey)
| Candidate site | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Around JR Narayama Station | Nara City | Adjacent to an existing JR station |
| Hachijo–Daianji area | Nara City | Near the city center |
| Near Kintetsu Kashihara × JR Yamatoji crossing | Yamatokoriyama City | A north–south / east–west junction point |
Opening date is uncertain — even the 2037 target faces upstream delays
When it will actually reach Nara cannot yet be stated firmly. The Nagoya–Osaka section was first targeted for 2045, but by tapping fiscal investment-and-loan funds the project aims to advance opening by up to eight years, and the government sets a target of full Shinagawa–Osaka opening as early as 2037. Meanwhile the preceding Shinagawa–Nagoya section, once aimed at 2027, was abandoned by JR Central in March 2024. With the Shizuoka works (the Southern Alps tunnel) delayed, that section is now expected only after 2034 — raising the likelihood that the Nagoya–Osaka stretch, Nara included, slips back further.
| Section | Original target | Current outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Shinagawa–Nagoya | 2027 | Abandoned in March 2024; now expected after 2034 |
| Nagoya–Osaka (incl. Nara) | 2045 | Government target as early as 2037 (uncertain due to upstream delay) |
Nara has been lobbying for over 30 years
Nara Prefecture and Nara City have lobbied for the line since the plan's inception. Back in 1989, the prefectural maglev-promotion league, the prefectural assembly and the city assembly each adopted resolutions calling for a stop in Nara City, and the prefecture continues to work toward early full opening. If the maglev is realized, it would transform access toward Tokyo on top of Nara's existing closeness to Osaka and Kyoto. To see Nara's transport and visitor picture today, start with the datasets below.
1989year resolutions sought a stop in Nara City