The is a limited express train service operated by

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

(JR West). One of the services making up JR West's "Big X Network", it connects

Kyoto Station Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city ...

and

Kinosaki Onsen Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Toyooka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It serves the onsen (hot spring) district of Kinosaki. Lines Kinosaki Onsen Station is served by the S ...

via the San-in Main Line. The color associated with the service is purple, also the line color of the

Sagano Line The is the popular name for a portion of the Sanin Main Line in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. The electrified and double-tracked railway is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway ...

which it uses for part of its journey.

Station stops

- - - - - - - - - - - * Some services stop at Hiyoshi Station.

Maximum operating speeds

*Kyoto – Fukuchiyama: *Fukuchiyama – Kinosaki Onsen:

Rolling stock

287 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) in Japan on limited express services such as the '' Kinosaki'' and '' Kounotori'' from Kyoto and Osaka since 12 March 2011. 287 series EMUs we ...

EMUs (since 12 March 2011) * 289 series EMUs (from 31 October 2015) ''Kinosaki'' services are operated with

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

(EMU) trains based at Fukuchiyama Depot. Some services operate as combined ''Kinosaki'' and ''Maizuru'' services. The 287 series EMUs were introduced on these services from 12 March 2011, replacing 183 series sets. 289 series EMUs converted from former dual-voltage

683 series The is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) and Hokuetsu Express on limited express services in Japan since 2001. Variants * 683-0 series (''Thunderbird'') * 683-1000 series (' ...

trainsets were introduced on ''Kinosaki'' services from 31 October 2015, replacing the remaining

JNR The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

-era 381 series trains.

Former

183 series The was a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1972 by Japanese National Railways (JNR). Following the privatization of JNR, the 183 series was operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West ...

EMUs (until 15 March 2013) * 381 series EMUs (from 1 June 2012 until 30 October 2015)

EMUs were formerly used on some services, but were withdrawn by the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013. Fukuchiyama-based 381 series EMUs displaced from ''

Kuroshio The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

'' services were also introduced on ''Kinosaki'' services from 1 June 2012. These were withdrawn following the final day of operations on 30 October 2015.

History

The ''Kinosaki'' service is named after the service's terminus, formerly known only as Kinosaki Station. Also, when the service began, the neighborhood in which the station stood was known as Kinosaki. Both are derived from the region's well-known area of hot springs. * March 1, 1962: the ''Kinosaki'' service begins as two daily round trips between Kyoto and Kinosaki. * April 20, 1963: the ''Kinosaki'' running from Fukuchiyama Station is renamed to ''Tango''. Daily service consists of four round trips per day. * March 5, 1966: the ''Kinosaki'' and ''Tango'' become express services. * November 10, 1968: ''Hakuto'' services departing Kyoto no longer connected with more cars at Ōsaka station. That service becomes the ''Daisen''. The ''Kinosaki'' name is discontinued, and ''Tango'' services are increased to seven round trips daily. All ''Tango'' services are classified as express. * December 1990: 183 series trains providing seasonal express service between Osaka and Kinosaki are once again called ''Kinosaki''. *1995: seasonal express service ends. The following year, it is decided that permanent limited express ''Kinosaki'' service will be restored between Kyoto and Kinosaki. * March 18, 2007: All cars become non-smoking. * March 16, 2013: From the start of the revised timetable, 183 series EMUs are withdrawn from ''Kinosaki'' services.

References

External links

JR West 287 series ''Kinosaki''

{{JR West trains Named passenger trains of Japan West Japan Railway Company Railway services introduced in 1962 1962 establishments in Japan