The is a

limited express A limited express is a type of express train service. It refers to an express service that stops at a limited number of stops in comparison to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common ...

train service in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East), which runs from to and via the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fuku ...

and

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1992, the Fukushima–Yama ...

Service pattern

Four return workings operate daily between and , with two return workings between Aomori and during busy seasons. * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rolling stock

Services are normally formed of 4-car

E751 series The is an AC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated on ''Tsugaru'' limited express services in the north of Japan by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) since March 2000. The design was based on the earlier (1,500 V DC) E653 se ...

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 ...

s (EMUs) based at Aomori depot, with Aomori-based 4-car 485-3000 series EMUs also used on some additional services during busy seasons. File:E751 A102 Tsugaru 1 Aomori 20110712.jpg, 4-car E751 series EMU on a ''Tsugaru'' service, July 2011 File:485-3000 Tsugaru 200706.jpg, 6-car 485-3000 series on a ''Tsugaru'' service, June 2007

Formations

Trains are formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Akita end. All cars are no-smoking.

History

The was first introduced on 1 October 1954 as an express service operating between in Tokyo and via and . From 19 November 1956, the train was rerouted to run via and Akita. This service was discontinued from the start of the revised timetable on 1 December 1993. The ''Tsugaru'' name was revived from 1 December 2002 as a limited express service operating between and , superseding the former ''

Hatsukari The and were limited express train services in Japan operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and later East Japan Railway Company (JR East) from 1958 until 2002. History The ''Hatsukari'' was first introduced on 1 October 1958 as a long ...

'' limited express service which ran between and Aomori up until the opening of the

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main is ...

extension to Hachinohe. Services were formed of 6-car 485-3000 series and

EMUs based at Aomori depot, with JR Hokkaido

789 series __NOTOC__ Year 789 ( DCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 789 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...

EMUs used on some services. From 4 December 2010, with the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen extension from Hachinohe to , the ''Tsugaru'' services were rerouted to operate between Aomori and Akita, replacing the '' Kamoshika'' and '' Inaho'' services that previously ran on this route. From this date, services were formed of shortened 4-car 485-3000 series EMUs, with the E751 series EMUs temporarily removed from service. File:4851am.jpg, 6-car 485 series EMU, August 2003 File:789nm-ds.jpg, 789 series EMU on a ''Tsugaru'' service, August 2007 From 23 April 2011, the E751 series sets were reinstated on ''Tsugaru'' services, this time formed as 4-car sets, replacing the 485-3000 series sets.

References

External links

JR East 485 series ''Tsugaru''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsugaru (Train) Named passenger trains of Japan East Japan Railway Company Railway services introduced in 1954 1954 establishments in Japan