JR East, Japan, plans to spend Yen 1.04 trillion ($US 9.1bn) on upgrading its Tokyo - Morioka and Niigata – Omiya high-speed lines from 2031.

The first bullet trains to reach the northernmost of Japan's three main islands, Hokkaido, will begin operating next month. Yoshihiko Sato profiles the latest addition to the Shinkansen network.

JAPAN's Nishi-Nippon Railway has awarded Kawasaki Heavy Industries a contract to supply 18 1067mm-gauge EMUs for the 75km Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line in Fukuoka prefecture.

With domestic economic growth slowing, China is aiming to boost exports from its rapidly developing technological sector, including rail. Kevin Smith looks at what 2016 might have in store for China and its impact on the railway landscape in east Asia.

JAPAN is the European Union's (EU) biggest trading partner after China, but the trade in railway equipment between the two economic powers is a poor reflection of this status and the scale of their respective railway markets.

THE European rail supply industry is a diverse and geographically-widespread industry comprising thousands of SMEs and major industrial champions. Employing around 400,000 people throughout the European Union (EU) and with absolute sales of €47bn per annum, it accounts for 46% of the global accessible market for rail products.

HOKKAIDO Railway Company is using a range of bearings developed by NSK for its new fleet of H5 trains that will be used Hokkaido Shinkansen between Shin-Aomori and Sapporo, which is due to open in March 2016.

INDIA will adopt Japanese Shinkansen technology for the country's first high-speed line under a memorandum of understanding signed on December 12 in Delhi in the presence of India's Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Mr Shinzo Abe.

The Japanese city of Sendai inaugurated its second metro line on December 6, four years after the region was devastated by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

EAST Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) announced journey times on December 3 for high-speed services operating via the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which will open on March 26.