Tohoku Shinkansen to fully resume April 30

The quake-hit Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train will resume full service between Tokyo and Shin-aomori in Aomori Prefecture at the end of this month.

On Monday, East Japan Railways announced that it will be reopening the 3 disrupted sections of the Tohoku Shinkansen route.

The company said service in the northern most section between Ichinoseki and Morioka will reopen on Saturday this week. Service between Fukushima and Sendai at the southern end will resume on Monday next week, to fully link Tokyo and Sendai.

The central section between Sendai and Ichinoseki will likely reopen on April 30th.

The full-service recovery will only be about 50 days after the bullet train route suffered major damage from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The operator warns however that service will be reduced and the rides will take longer, because trains will have to slow down in some areas.