Hokutosei

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hokutosei, pulled by an EF510-501 class electric locomotive, September 2010
Hokutosei, pulled by two JR Hokkaido class DD51 diesel locomotives, February 2010

The Hokutosei ( Japanese 北斗星 ) was a "Limited Express" (English for tokkyū ) between the Ueno station in Tokyo and the Sapporo station in Sapporo . It was a sleeper train operated in cooperation between the East Japan Railway Company (JR Higashi-Nihon) and the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaidō). The train ran overnight and has a travel time of 16.5 hours. On his way he drove through the 53.94 km long Seikan tunnel . The Hokutosei was one of two sleeper trains on this route. The other train was the Cassiopeia .

Hokutosei, literally "Stars of the Northern Ladle", is the Japanese name for the constellation Great Bear (Ursa Major). The constellation can also be seen on the logo of the train, which is mounted on the front of the railcar.

The astronomers Masayuki Yanai and Kazuo Watanabe named the asteroid discovered on January 4, 1989 (5374) Hokutosei after him.

Route

The approximately 1200 km long route led from Ueno (Tokyo) to Sapporo. The train stopped at Ōmiya , Utsunomiya , Kōriyama , Fukushima and Sendai . There were occasional further stops in Ichinoseki and Morioka . The first stop on Hokkaido Island was the city of Hakodate . From there the train drove through to Sapporo in 5 hours.

Until 2005, some trains also stopped within the Seikan tunnel at one of the two emergency stations. This stop with no boarding was only for tourists and was canceled when work began on converting the tunnel for Shinkansen operations.

On its route, the Hokutosei used the tracks of three different operators. The train itself was operated in cooperation between JR East and JR Hokkaido. The track sections not belonging to JR are the Iwate Ginga Tetsudō Line and the Aoimori Tetsudō Line .

Earthquake in March 2011

After the earthquake in March 2011 and the resulting reactor accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant , the operation of the Hokutosei and all other railway lines between Sendai and Ueno was suspended. Operations then resumed at the end of May 2011.

Prices

The Hokutosei offered two price categories: In the "A" class, each trip / overnight stay cost the same, regardless of the place of entry and exit. The price was ¥ 6,300. In class "B" there were different prices starting with the single room ¥ 6,300, through the double room (¥ 6,300 per person) and the twin deluxe room ¥ 13,350 per person, up to the Royal Suite for ¥ 17,180 for the first person and ¥ 9,500 for the second (together ¥ 26,680). The prices in this class varied with the route booked.

Composition of the train

The train had 10 series 24 sleeping cars, a dining car and a KaNi24 generator car in a standard configuration. The depots for this were the Oku depot in Tokyo (JR East) and the Sapporo depot (JR Hokkaido).

Three different locomotives were used on the route. The locomotive change took place in Aomori and Hakodate:

  1. A JR East EF81 (an electric locomotive designed for two different operating voltages) was used between Ueno and Aomori. The change to the EF510-500 is planned by July 2011.
  2. An ED79 series electric locomotive from JR Hokkaido was used between Aomori and Hakodate.
  3. Two DD51 diesel locomotives were used between Hakodate and Sapporo.

history

The Hokutosei began operating in March 1988 with the completion and opening of the Seikan Tunnel. In 1999 the route was supplemented by the Cassiopeia. Until March 2008, trains ran daily in both directions. After that there was only one train per day (3 trips to Sapporo and 3 to Tokyo per week).

In the course of the opening of the Hokkaidō Shinkansen , the operation of the Hokutosei was gradually discontinued. Since March 14, 2015, only a few trains have been running during the main holiday periods; operations were finally stopped in August 2015. The last train to Sapporo left on August 21, the last train to Tokyo the day after.

At the end of 2016, a Hokutosei hostel was opened in Tokyo that uses parts of the furnishings from the original train.

photos

  • Class B solo sleeping compartment

  • Dining car, interior view

  • Sleeping car, exterior view

  • Dining car, exterior view

  • The double diesel locomotive DD51 at the entrance to Hakodate

  • The electric locomotive EF510 at the entrance to Ueno

Web links

Commons : Hokutosei  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Train operation status. In: JPrail.com. June 1, 2011, accessed June 2, 2011 .
  2. ↑ 平 成 27 年 3 月 14 日 ダ イ ヤ 改正 に と も な う JR 東 日本 車 両 の 動 き[Changes in connection with the timetable change from March 14, 2015]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 55 no.649. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. May 2015. p. 75.
  3. ↑ 寝 台 特急 〈北斗星〉 ラ ス ト ラ ン [Last trip of the Hokutsei Limited Express]. In: RM News Jump up ^. Japan: Neko Publishing Co. Ltd, August 24, 2015, accessed January 28, 2017 (Japanese).
  4. ↑ Japan's last 'blue train' wraps up final run after nearly 60 years of service . In: The Japan Times Online . August 23, 2015, ISSN  0447-5763 (English, online [accessed January 28, 2017]).
  5. ↑ The night train hotel | Asian mirror . In: Asienspiegel . ( Online [accessed January 28, 2017]).