Thanks for highlighting as we were/ are planning a trip to Kanazawa in Nov and we had been looking to take the Thunderbird L'ex from Kyoto most likely though Shin-Osaka was another option.

Pain in the behind and certainly a 20ish min time saving doesn't make sense with such a less convenient platform change in Tsuruga (with luggage) versus heading direct on the Thunderbird.

I could live with a reduced frequency of Thunderbird while preserving direct, nonstop option, but this forced switch is plain silly and only looks good on paper when considering travel time. Price is also higher so what gives. A Shinkansen from Osaka to Kanazawa all the way, yes, count me in, but this is rubbish in my book.

For us, given we were actually looking to do a brisk Beppu - Kanazawa one day mega haul bonanza (L'ex - Shinkansen -L'ex) which was doable in ~7hrs will now rather mean Beppu - Shin Osaka or Kyoto (L'ex - Shinkansen) with overnight and next morning Shin-Osaka or Kyoto to Kanazawa (L'ex / Shinkansen) with the forced switch. We don't mind travel time, but like to reduce train changes (all will be Green Car anyways). Oh well, something to ponder.