JR Tokai to let pet dogs enjoy Shinkansen rides

Nagoya (Jiji Press) — Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, will launch a pilot service to let pet dogs have fun riding Shinkansen bullet trains with their owners, JR Tokai President Shunsuke Niwa said in a recent interview.

In the service, Shinkansen train cars will be chartered to allow passengers to release their dogs from cages and move around inside the cars with the pets.

“We’d like to create new demand through measures like this,” Niwa said.

The operator of the Tokaido Shinkansen line also plans a same-day luggage delivery service for guests at Mitsui Fudosan Co. group hotels in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto using “Kodama” trains, which have already been utilized to meet corporate demand for same-day package delivery. Sagawa Express Co. will take charge of picking up and dropping off luggage at hotels and stations.

Niwa expressed willingness to “continue to cooperate with areas and businesses along the Shinkansen line.”

When it comes to the Linear Chuo Shinkansen maglev line, Niwa said JR Tokai aims to introduce a new middle train car that is more environmentally friendly than the current one on the test track in Yamanashi Prefecture around this summer.

He, however, said he cannot tell a specific date of the introduction, citing uncertainties over when tunnel work in Shizuoka Prefecture can get started as talks between the operator and the Shizuoka prefectural government on the construction’s environmental impact are still underway.