JAPAN - Central Japan Railway Co. (TSE:9022) is considering opening a section of its proposed Tokyo-Osaka maglev train system earlier than scheduled, Chairman Yoshiyuki Kasai said at an event here Friday featuring local business leaders.

The railway company, also known as JR Tokai, is targeting the 2025 launch of the first leg linking Tokyo and Nagoya. It is exploring the possibility of moving up the debut of a section between Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures , according to Kasai.

"The partial launch of operations on the maglev system is what we've planned all along, and we seek to begin doing so in areas that look feasible," he told The Nikkei.

Kasai refrained, however, from providing a timetable for when the Kanagawa-Yamanashi link might be available.

JR Tokai is scheduled to complete construction in fiscal 2013 to extend an existing 18.4km maglev test route in Yamanashi to 42.8km. The railway firm hopes to extend this line both east and west and eventually transition it to operational use.

Demand for business and tourist travel along the route is expected to be limited, making the profit outlook uncertain. But the quick opening could bolster JR Tokai's ability to begin recouping its investment. "As long as the maglev line and the Tokaido shinkansen bullet train operations generate a combined profit, that's fine," Kasai said.