The airport is currently served by the 17.8km Tokyo Monorail, which interchanges with JR East’s Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines at Hamamatsucho station. This provides a 28-minute journey time between Haneda and Tokyo Station.

The new heavy rail line will start at an underground terminus station near Haneda’s domestic terminal, running in a 5km tunnel to the branch’s only intermediate station at Tokyo Cargo Terminal. From here, the line would use the alignment of disused 7.4km freight line to reach the Tokaido Line near Tamachi station. Trains would then continue on the existing line to Tokyo Station.

Construction is expected to begin on the Yen 300bn ($US 2.7bn) project in the 2022 financial year and the line will take around seven years to complete.

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