The is a Rapid train service in Japan operated by

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

(JR Central), which runs from to and . The service passes through several significant locations en route, such as Tsu, the capital city of

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...

History

The service was introduced on 10 March 1990, as a way to compete with

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Kyot ...

and to provide a cheap, quick and efficient route from Nagoya to the Ise Peninsula. The ''Mie'' is faster than a Kintetsu express train but slower than a Kintetsu limited express train. Kintetsu still maintains superior numbers of passengers to this day.

Route

The train stops at the following stations: - - - - () - () - - - - () - () - () - () - - () - - () - Nakaseko is only served by a few Nagoya-bound services. Suzuka Circuit Inō is only served on days of racing events at the nearby

Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Int ...

. Other stations in brackets are not served by all trains. Between Yokkaichi and Tsu, the train runs along the private

Ise Railway Ise Line The is a Japanese railway line in Mie Prefecture, between Kawarada Station, Yokkaichi and Tsu Station, Tsu. This is the only railway line operates. The company name is abbreviated to . The third sector company took the former Japanese Nationa ...

. An additional fee is required to ride the train in this section. Therefore, this service is not fully valid for Japan Rail pass holders.

Service

There are 13 daily departures in each direction, approximately one train an hour in each direction for most of the day. Services that run after the 17:37 departure from Nagoya terminate at Iseshi and do not continue to Toba. On weekends and holidays, there is an extra service departing Nagoya station at 7:43 in the morning for Iseshi. The ''Mie'' is serviced by KiHa 75 series DMUs, usually in 2 or 4 car formations. 6 cars may occasionally be used in busy seasons and on days of special events, such as a race at the Suzuka Circuit.

Facilities

Only standard class is available on this service. There is no Green car seating. Seat reservations can be made for an extra fee. There are one or more universal access toilets depending on how many carriages are being used. There are also wheelchair spaces. No catering facilities are available on this train.

References

{{reflist Lines of Central Japan Railway Company