The Takanawa Embankment, an early Meiji era railway ruin, was discovered during test excavation on the north side of JR Tamachi Station (Minato Ward, Tokyo) in conjunction with the construction of the Haneda Airport Access Line (tentative name), which connects Tokyo Station and Haneda Airport. ”, about 100 meters of which was expected to be demolished along the original construction route, is now expected to be preserved underground. JR East announced changes to its route plan on the 15th.
◆Move the excavation point to the south and reduce the demolition area
The access line will exit Tokyo Station and pass through a tunnel north of Tamachi Station towards Haneda, and is expected to open in 2031. Trial excavations and historical materials revealed that the tunnel would pass through the remains of an embankment approximately 160 meters long, as well as the remains of the Satsuma Daiba gun battery built by the Satsuma clan in the late Edo period, and a committee of JR East’s experts was considering what to do.
The proposed change would move the excavation point approximately 100 meters to the south and shorten the area to be demolished after recording to approximately 60 meters. The approximately 100 meters that will be preserved will be under the Tokaido Line and Yamanote Line railroad tracks, and will not be visible for the time being. It is said that records will also be preserved at Satsuma Daiba.
◆”Zaoba Overpass” has been around since the railroad opened about 150 years ago…
The “Zaoba Overpass Bridge”, where it is pointed out that the abutments from when the railway opened may remain, in Minato Ward, Tokyo
JR East also stated that regarding the nearby Zakoba Overpass, which allows pedestrians to pass under the railroad tracks, “there is a high possibility that the abutments from when the railway opened remain.” It is believed to be the 5th bridge, counting from Shinbashi, the starting station at the time of opening. The “7th Bridge,” which was excavated on the west side of JR Takanawa Gateway Station, has been decided to be preserved as a national historic site.
Akio Tanigawa, a former professor at Waseda University who chairs JR East’s expert committee, said, “Unless the access line plan is stopped, it will be difficult to preserve the embankment on site any longer, and it will be difficult to dismantle part of it after recording.” I think it is unavoidable. I hope that the situation at Satsuma Daiba will become clearer.” (Mitsuharu Umeno, Bi Okuno)