| Haneda Airport Access Line | |
| Native Name: | 羽田空港アクセス線 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Type: | Heavy rail |
| Status: | Under Construction |
| Locale: | Tokyo |
| Start: | Tokyo Station (tentative) |
| End: | Haneda Airport New Station |
| Planopen: | Fiscal 2031 (tentative) |
| Tracks: | 2 |
| Electrification: | 1,500 V DC, overhead lines |
The is a commuter rail line under construction by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) that will link Haneda Airport to central Tokyo.[1] Construction began on 2 June 2023.[2] [3]
Two further branches are proposed to connect the airport west towards Osaki and Shinjuku, and east towards Shin-Kiba along the Rinkai Line.
Due to the growing demand of air travelers using Haneda Airport, especially international travelers, JR East officially announced in the “JR East Group Management Vision V” issued in 2013 that they aimed to improve the accessibility to the airport.[4]
In 2014, JR East released its fundamental construction plan for the accessibility improvement.[5] The plan proposed that an existing disused freight line running from Tamachi Station located on the Yamanote Line be extended, connecting to the airport through a new underwater tunnel. The newly-constructed section would be about 5km (03miles) long, running from the existing Tokyo Freight Terminal to a new to be located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.[6]
In the JR East Group Management Vision "Move Up” issued in 2018, JR East proposed constructing three conventional lines departing from the airport connecting to different parts of Tokyo: the East Yamanote route, the West Yamanote route and the Coastal Area route.[7] In 2019, JR East officially launched the environmental assessment for the new lines.[8]
In 2021, JR East announced that they have received Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism approval for construction of the East Yamanote route and intended to start construction in 2022, for completion by 2029.[9] In early April 2023, JR East announced that construction would begin, and that a construction groundbreaking ceremony would take place at a later date in June of that year.[10] The opening date is expected to take place sometime in fiscal 2031, two years later than the initial expected opening date.[11] Construction of the new line is estimated to cost about .
Construction of the line officially began on 2 June 2023 with a groundbreaking ceremony.
Three routes from Tokyo Freight Terminal onwards to the various points in central Tokyo were under consideration. The selected will run from the new airport station located between Terminals 1 and 2 of Haneda Airport to a point near Tamachi Station, using an unused freight line between Tamachi and Tokyo Freight Terminal to connect to the Tokaido Main Line (Ueno-Tokyo Line). By running through trains on the Ueno–Tokyo Line, through service can be offered to Tokyo Station, Ueno Station, and northbound lines including the Takasaki Line, Utsunomiya Line, and Joban Line, allowing service to the northern suburbs of Tokyo. Travel times between Tokyo and Haneda are estimated to decrease from the current 28 minutes to 18 minutes.[12]
The other two routes remain possible future extensions, although as of 2024 there is no timeline for either.