Hakuchō (train)

*Hakuchō*
*Super Hakuchō*
	A 485-3000 series EMU on a Hakuchō service at Aomori Station in January 2003
Overview
Service type	Limited express
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Japan
First service	1960 (Semi express); 1961 (Limited express)
Last service	March 2016
Successor	Hokkaido Shinkansen services
Former operator(s)	JNR, JR East, JR Hokkaido
Route
Termini	Shin-Aomori; Hakodate
Distance travelled	164.3 km (102.1 mi)
Line(s) used	Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line
On-board services
Class(es)	Green + standard
Seating arrangements	2+2
Catering facilities	Trolley service
Technical
Rolling stock	485-3000 series (Hakuchō) ; 789 series/785 series (Super Hakuchō) EMUs
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	20 kV AC, 50 Hz
Operating speed	140 km/h (87 mph)

The Hakuchō (白鳥, Hakuchō) and Super Hakuchō (スーパー白鳥) were Japanese limited express train services which operated between Shin-Aomori and Hakodate via the undersea Seikan Tunnel from December 2002 until March 2016. The services were operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) respectively.

Hakuchō[edit]

The Hakuchō services operated between Shin-Aomori and Hakodate using refurbished JR East 485-3000 series six-car EMUs, extended to eight cars during busy seasons.^[1] Services operated at a maximum speed of 140 km/h (85 mph) on the ATC-controlled section of the Seikan Tunnel, with the fastest services between Shin-Aomori and Hakodate taking 2 hours 8 minutes.^[2]

The Hakuchō name actually dated back to 1960, as the name of a service which ran from Osaka to Aomori until March 2001. The name was reused for the new services starting in 2002 by popular demand.

Super Hakuchō[edit]

The Super Hakuchō services operated between Shin-Aomori and Hakodate using JR Hokkaido 789 series six- and eight-car EMUs and a converted 785-300 series 2-car EMU set.^[1] As with the Hakuchō services, these trains operated at a maximum speed of 140 km/h (85 mph) on the ATC-controlled section of the Seikan Tunnel, with the fastest services between Shin-Aomori and Hakodate taking 2 hours 1 minute.^[2]

A JR Hokkaido 789 series EMU on a Super Hakuchō service in August 2010
A converted 785-300 series EMU on a Super Hakuchō service in August 2011

History[edit]

Semi express[edit]

The Hakuchō service was first introduced from 28 December 1960, as a semi express service operating between Akita and Same via Aomori.^[3]

Limited express[edit]

From 1 October 1961, the train was upgraded to become a limited express service operating between Osaka and Aomori and Ueno via Naoetsu using KiHa 80 series diesel multiple units. From 1965, the Ueno services were separated to become the Hakutaka, and the Hakuchō was amended via Niigata. 485 series electric multiple units were used from October 1972. From 1988, the rolling stock was refurbished and repainted in a new livery of cream with light blue and dark blue waistline stripes.^[3] Hakuchō services between Osaka and Aomori ran until 2 March 2001.

Kaikyo Line limited express[edit]

From 1 December 2002, the "Hakuchō" name was revived for services between Hachinohe and Hakodate, coinciding with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen extension from Morioka to Hachinohe, replacing the earlier locomotive-hauled Kaikyō rapid services which operated between Morioka and Hakodate.^[1]

From the start of the revised timetable on 4 December 2010, with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori, the Hakuchō and Super Hakuchō trains were also shortened to run from Shin-Aomori to Hakodate via Aomori.

Withdrawal[edit]

The Hakucho and Super Hakucho services were discontinued in March 2016 ahead of the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen high-speed line. The last services operated on 21 March 2016.^[4]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. p. 82. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
^ ^a ^b Kekke, Yoshiyuki (August 2013). JR高速在来線列車ガイド [JR high-speed conventional train service guide]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 42, no. 352. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. pp. 16–17.
^ ^a ^b 列車名鑑1995 [Train Name Directory 1995]. Japan: Railway Journal. August 1995. pp. 81–128.
^ 特急“スーパー白鳥"・"白鳥”運転終了 ["Super Hakucho" and "Hakucho" limited express services end]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.

External links[edit]

JR East 485 series Hakuchō (in Japanese)

[kotsu2008-1] JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. p. 82. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.

[dj352-2] Kekke, Yoshiyuki (August 2013). JR高速在来線列車ガイド [JR high-speed conventional train service guide]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 42, no. 352. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. pp. 16–17.

[meikan1995-3] 列車名鑑1995 [Train Name Directory 1995]. Japan: Railway Journal. August 1995. pp. 81–128.

[railfan20160322-4] 特急“スーパー白鳥"・"白鳥”運転終了 ["Super Hakucho" and "Hakucho" limited express services end]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Named trains of East Japan Railway Company
Shinkansen	Asama Hakutaka Hayabusa Hayate Kagayaki Komachi Nasuno Tanigawa Toki Tsubasa Yamabiko
Limited express (daytime)	Akagi Azusa Fuji Excursion Hachiōji Hitachi Inaho Kaiji Kinugawa Kusatsu/Shima Narita Express Nikkō Odoriko Ōme Sazanami Shiosai Shirayuki Shōnan Spacia Kinugawa Saphir Odoriko Tokiwa Tsugaru Wakashio
Rapid	Banetsu Monogatari Holiday Rapid Okutama/Akigawa Holiday Rapid View Yamanashi Resort Shirakami Shimokita Bay Liner (Odakyu)
Local	Musashino Shimōsa
Excursion	SL Ginga TRAIN SUITE Shiki-shima Cassiopeia SL Gunma Minakami
Discontinued Shinkansen	Aoba Asahi
Discontinued Limited express (Daytime)	Akita Relay Ayame Fresh Hitachi Hakuchō Hatsukari Hokuetsu Hometown Tochigi Kamoshika Komakusa Kusatsu Minakami Minori Ohayō Tochigi Soyokaze Super Azusa Super Hakuchō Super Hatsukari Super Hitachi Swallow Akagi Tazawa
Discontinued Limited express (overnight)	Akebono Hokuriku Hokutosei Nihonkai Yume Kūkan
Discontinued Express	Noto
Discontinued Rapid	Airport Jōban Airport Narita Kubikino Moonlight Echigo Myōkō Aizu Liner Moonlight Shinshu Moonlight Nagara
Discontinued Liner	Chūō Liner Ōme Liner Home Liner Chiba Home Liner Odawara Home Liner Zushi Ohayō Liner Shinjuku Ohayō Liner Zushi Shōnan Liner

v t e Mass transit in Hokkaido
JR Hokkaido lines	Hokkaido Shinkansen ■■ Chitose ■ Furano ■■■ Hakodate ■ Hidaka ■ Kaikyō ■■ Muroran ■■ Nemuro ■ Rumoi ■ Sasshō ■ Sekihoku ■ Sekishō ■ Senmō ■ Sōya
JR named trains	Hayabusa Hayate Hokuto Kamui Kitami Lilac Okhotsk Ōzora Sarobetsu Sōya Suzuran Taisetsu Tokachi
Discontinued JR named trains	Cassiopeia Hakuchō Hamanasu Ishikari Super Hakuchō Super White Arrow Twilight Express White Arrow
Sapporo Municipal Subway	Namboku Line Tōzai Line Tōhō Line
Other railways	South Hokkaido Railway Company Hakodate Streetcar Sapporo Streetcar Taiheiyō Coal (freight only)
Terminals	Rail Hakodate Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Sapporo Ōdōri Shin-Sapporo Asahikawa Airports Asahikawa New Chitose Hakodate Kushiro Memanbetsu Monbetsu Nakashibetsu Okadama Okushiri Rishiri Tokachi–Obihiro Wakkanai Ports Hakodate Otaru Tomakomai Kushiro
Public Ferries	Heart Land Ferry (ja) (Wakkanai—N. Islands) Silver Ferry (Tomakomai—Hachinohe) Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry (Hakodate—Aomori) Seikan Ferry (Hakodate—Aomori) Shin Nihonkai Ferry MOL Ferry Taiheiyō Ferry Haboro-Enkai Ferry (ja) (Haboro—Yagishiri Island)
Miscellaneous	Cards Kitaca SAPICA Tunnels Seikan Tunnel
Japan transit: Tokyo Keihanshin Nagoya Fukuoka Hakone Fuji Izu Hokkaido Aomori Sendai Akita Niigata Toyama Nagano Okayama Hiroshima Shikoku Metro systems Shinkansen trams (list) aerial lifts (list)