JR East has announced that it will cancel 66 planned extra holiday services on the Yamagata Shinkansen during the busy Obon period, citing difficulties in securing enough rolling stock.
From August 1 onward, operations on the Yamagata Shinkansen are expected to return to the regular timetable using the available E8 and E3 series trains. However, due to the ongoing shortage of available train sets, JR East will be unable to run the additional trains originally scheduled between August 9 and 17 for the Obon travel rush.
Despite the cancellations, JR East states that the regular number of trains will be maintained, and direct services between Tokyo and Yamagata will continue. To help ease congestion and secure transport capacity, the company will also extend certain trains on the Ōu Main Line and the Senzan Line from four-car to six-car formations.
Although the rollout of the new E8 series continues, the number of operational units remains insufficient to fully cover the holiday demand.
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