Amazon Japan is now transporting packages on Shinkansen bullet trains
It’s part of Amazon’s efforts to reach net-zero carbon across its operations in the coming years.
Amazon Japan has started using the country's iconic bullet trains to move packages between facilities across different regions. The company said teaming up with Japan Railway is part of its efforts to cut both delivery times and carbon dioxide emissions. Japan's Shinkansen can reach speeds of up to 200 mph and can cut down travel times, say, from Tokyo to Osaka from around 8 hours to two-and-a-half hours. They also run on electricity delivered by an overhead electrical system.
Back in 2019, the company launched an initiative that aims for net zero carbon emissions for deliveries. Amazon said back then that it expects half of its shipments to be net zero by 2030, with help from electric vehicles, renewable energy and renewable packaging. Under the Climate Pledge, which it co-founded, it made the commitment to reach net-zero carbon across its global operations by 2040. Transporting parcels via the Shinkansen is definitely one of the ways Amazon can achieve those goals. In some parts of Europe, Amazon also delivers packages via e-cargo bikes, and it offers drone deliveries in several cities across the US.
However, the company's generative AI projects are undermining its sustainability goals. In the sustainability report is released in 2025, Amazon admitted that its overall carbon emissions grew for the first time since 2022. It blamed most of that growth on its data center rollout, with the increase in its energy use coming from AI chips that require more power to run and to cool than traditional chips. The construction of its data centers also contributed to the growth of its carbon emissions.,
Under its partnership with Japan Railway, Amazon is transporting packages on the non-passenger spaces of the bullet trains on three routes, which connect its operations in the Greater Tokyo area with central and northern Japan. It started moving packages on the Tohoku Shinkansen, which links Tokyo to Fukushima and Sendai, among other regions, in March 2026. This May, it also started moving packages through the Tohoku–Hokkaido Shinkansen (Tokyo to Hokkaido) and the Hokuriku Shinkansen (Tokyo to Hokuriku region, including Nagano).