Japan's empty bullet trains look to fresh freight for revenue

Railway operator does not expect passenger numbers to return to pre-virus levels

Shinkansen Transport Experiment Nikkei 20200911

An experiment aboard the Tohoku Shinkansen: Boxes containing fresh fish sent from Sendai Station arrive at Tokyo Station on Aug. 26. (Photo by Shohei Nomoto)

AKANE OKUTSU and SHOHEI NOMOTO, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- East Japan Railway, which serves Tokyo and other parts of Japan, plans to use some of its shinkansen as high-speed freight trains as it looks for alternative revenue sources that, like its passengers, won't be scared off by the coronavirus crisis.

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