Maehara sounds out JR Tokai over shinkansen link for Haneda airport+

TOKYO, Dec. 27 Kyodo -
Transport minister Seiji Maehara said Sunday he asked Central Japan Railway Co.
about possibly linking its shinkansen bullet train line with Tokyo's Haneda
airport to make it more accessible, but the operator, known as JR Tokai,
dismissed the idea due to a tight service schedule.
''I've had a feeling that we could use it,'' Maehara told reporters after
making the remarks during a TV show, referring to JR Tokai's storage area for
shinkansen bullet trains and railway tracks near the airport.
Although a spokesperson for JR Tokai described the minister's idea as
''unrealistic at the moment,'' Maehara expressed his readiness to continue
talks with the operator of the shinkansen service between Tokyo and Osaka.
''We need JR Tokai because we cannot do this alone,'' Maehara said. ''I haven't
given up (on the idea) and would like to continue discussions.''
His comments come as the government is planning to turn Haneda airport, which
mainly handles domestic flights, into an international hub in line with the
scheduled expansion of landing slots next year.
At present, airport limousines are the only direct way to get to the airport
from JR Tokyo Station.
In a similar move, Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa has already made a
proposal to link both Narita and Haneda airports with maglev trains.
==Kyodo
2009-12-27 22:33:33