The 285.6km first phase will cost Yen 4158bn ($US 38.13bn) for the infrastructure plus Yen 136.5bn for the trains funded entirely by JR Central. When the line opens in 2027 a journey time of 40 minutes is envisaged. The line will have a maximum design speed of 505km/h. This compares with a current maximum speed of 270km/h on the Tokaido Shinkansen and a Tokyo – Nagoya journey time of 1h 35min.

The first phase will be 86% underground including Tokyo Shinagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture and Nagoya stations. The total length of the tunnels will be 246.6km, with 23.6km of viaducts, 11.3km of bridges, and just 4.1km at grade. There will be three additional surface stations, a depot, and a main workshop in Gifu Prefecture.

Minimum curve radius will be 8000m, with some 800m-radius curves due to the terrain. The line will have a maximum gradient of 4%. The two guideways will have a centre line spacing of 5.8m.

JR Central plans to extend the Chuo Shinkansen from Nagoya to Osaka by 2045 at an estimated cost of Yen 3.5 trillion.