Overview: The JR companies have been working on ways to use the shinkansen to provide freight services to compensate for lost passenger revenue. JR East, in particular, began experimenting with the Tohoku Shinkansen in 2017 before expanding to include the Joetsu, Hokuriku and Yamagata Shinkansen. Now, the Tohoku Shinkansen is being used to transport freshly caught seafood to a restaurant in Tokyo. See JR East's plans for its shinkansen and conventional express trains post pandemic.