On December 4, 2010, the Tohoku Shinkansen will be extended by about 80 kilometers from its current terminus at Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori Station just outside of central Aomori City, reducing travel time between Tokyo by almost an hour to 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Furthermore, new faster train sets will be introduced on the Tohoku Shinkansen from March 2011. Running under the new nickname "Hayabusa", the trains will feature a new "Gran Class" with even more comfortable seats than in the Green Car. From spring 2013, the new train sets are scheduled to increase their top speeds from 300 km/h to 320 km/h, resulting in a further drop in travel times.
As a result of the shinkansen extension, the "Hakucho" and "Super Hakucho" limited express trains, which currently run between Hachinohe and Hakodate, will be re-routed to run between Shin-Aomori, Aomori and Hakodate. The destiny of the "Tsugaru" limited express, which is currently running between Hachinohe and Hirosaki, has not yet been decided on.
Furthermore, JR East is scheduled to transfer the non-shinkansen railway tracks between Hachinohe and Aomori to Aoimori Railways, a non-JR company, which will result in increased supplement fees to be paid by Japan Rail Pass holders using the Cassiopeia or Hokutosei night trains. source
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