Tazakawo Line: Morioka - Ōmagari The Tazawako Line is a 47 mile long railway connecting Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture to Ōmagari Station in Akita Prefecture, offering scenic views of forests, lakes, and the Ōu Mountains. In 1997, the Tazawako Line was re-gauged to standard gauge to accommodate the Akita Shinkansen's Komachi services. It is one of the few places where Shinkansen services and local services run on the same line. It provides an opportunity to get a Shinkansen train into TSW while avoiding the downsides that would come with most Shinkansen routes (long, few stops, lack of variety, lots of tunnels and sound barriers making scenery rather uninteresting). Key Specifications Length: 75.6 km (47.0 mi) Maximum Speed: 130 km/h (81 mph) Electrification: 20,000 V AC, 50 Hz via overhead catenary Standard gauge Rolling Stock Local Services: 701-5000 series EMU Shinkansen Services: E6 series Komachi LAMPOIL Licensing - JR East Anticipation - It includes a scenic route in a highly requested new country with an iconic Shinkansen train Mix - It is one of the few places where Shinkansen trains run on non-high speed lines and share tracks with local services Prominence - I don't know how well known Tazawako is, but Shinkansen trains are world famous. Prominent landmarks include Lake Tazawa, Kakunodate's samurai district, and the Ōu Mountains Opportunity - The route is fairy short so it provides an opportunity to develop Japanese assets and rolling stock that could be used in future routes, without being overly difficult or expensive Intelligence - Not sure if there are any prominent events that could coincide with the route Limitation - The route itself is fairy short and some Japanese assets may already be available with the upcoming Tadami line. The main limitation would be licensing and access to Japanese rolling stock. If Tadami line is planned to have unbranded JR East content, then having unbranded trains wouldn't be unprecedented, but getting access to an E6 series Shinkansen may be very difficult
Lovely suggestion. I remember playing the abridged version of this in Densha de Go. Would be great to see in TSW.
It's a slower route - might be worth going to Akita with the reversal for more involvement. Plus the De-icing stop in winter operations (this area gets a LOT of snow) You also have coupling operations in Morioka as the Komachi from Akita needs to be hooked onto the back of an E5 Hayabusa from Aomori or Hakodate
