The is a train service operated by

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strai ...

(JR Kyushu) on the

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima ( Kagoshima-Chuo St ...

in Japan since 2004. The word in Japanese means "

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

", and has been used on a succession of

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 ...

trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo Main Line in Japan since 1930.

History

Pre-war

The ''Tsubame'' name (originally written as "燕") was first used from 1 October 1930 for limited express services operating between and , hauled by JNR Class C51 and JNR Class C53 steam locomotives. These services operated until 30 September 1943.

Post-war

The name was revived (this time written as "つばめ") from 1 January 1950 for limited express services operating between Tokyo and , hauled by JNR Class C62 steam and JNR Class EF58 electric locomotives, and later by

151 series The (and the earlier 151 and 161 series variants) was a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR). Variants * 151 series * 161 series * 181 series The 151 series trains were introd ...

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 number ...

(EMU) trains. From 1 October 1964, following the opening of the

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 19 ...

, the name was reassigned to limited express trains operating between and . From 1 October 1965, services were extended to operate between and Hakata, operated by

481 __NOTOC__ Year 481 ( CDLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maecius without colleague (or, less frequently, year ...

and

583 series The were limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) train types introduced in 1967 by Japanese National Railways and later operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) on the through services expr ...

EMUs. These services continued until 9 March 1975 (when the

San'yō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward cont ...

was fully in operation).

JR Kyushu

The ''Tsubame'' name was once again revived by

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Str ...

from 15 July 1992 for limited express services operating on the

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its t ...

between / and Nishi-Kagoshima (now

Kagoshima-Chūō Station is a major railway station in Kagoshima, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It is the main railway terminal serving Kagoshima, the southern terminus of the Kyushu Shinkansen and is located on the Kagoshima Main Line and Ibusuk ...

), operated using new

787 series The is an AC electric multiple unit type operated on limited express services by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan since July 1992. Design The trains were built jointly by Hitachi and Kinki Sharyo. Formations 7-car sets (BM1–11, B ...

EMUs in 6-, 7-, or 11-car formations. These services operated until 12 March 2004, the day before the new

opened.

''Relay Tsubame''

Shin-Yatsushiro-Station platform 11-12 20100626

With the start of services on the

between and from 13 March 2004, new ''Relay Tsubame'' services commenced on the

between and using 787 series EMUs in 7-, 8-, and 11-car formations. The operation of the ''Relay Tsubame'' service was unique, as it was the only station in Japan where normal trains stopped at platforms adjacent to the shinkansen platforms. This was to facilitate transfer of passengers from shinkansen to ''Relay Tsubame'' and vice versa. Normally, shinkansen platforms are physically separated from normal train platforms with fare gates and may be at a different level (usually above the normal train platforms). When the remainder of the Kyushu Shinkansen was opened on 12 March 2011, the ''Tsubame'' became an all-stations service (similar to the '' Kodama'' on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen), operating primarily as shuttle services between Hakata and . Services operate twice per hour in each direction during the morning and evening, and once per hour during the middle of the day. Some ''Tsubame'' services also run to/from Kagoshima-Chūō.

Rolling stock

Shinkansen train services are formed of eight-car

N700 series The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train with tilting capability developed jointly by JR Central and JR West for use on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines since 2007, and also operated by JR Kyushu on the Kyushu Shinkansen line. N7 ...

(JR West N700-7000 series and JR Kyushu N700-8000 series) trains or six-car JR Kyushu 800 series trains. File:Series800 U001.jpg, A JR Kyushu 800 series train set in January 2022 File:Shinkansen N700-7000 S1 (49766090102).jpg, A JR West N700-7000 series trainset File:Shinkansen N700-8000 R6 at Nishi-Askashi Station 2019-11-15 (49765248278).jpg, A JR Kyushu N700-8000 series trainset

Formations

N700 series

Eight-car

services are formed as follows, with car 1 at the Kagoshima-Chūō (southern) end. Cars 1 to 3 are ordinary-class cars with 2+3 seating, and cars 4 to 8 are ordinary-class cars with 2+2 seating. Half of car 6 has "Green car" (first class) 2+2 seating. All cars are no-smoking except for smoking compartments in cars 3 and 7. On some train services, cars 4 and 5 are also non-reserved. File:Series-N700-7000 Inside Green-seat.jpg, N700-7000 series Green car interior File:Series-N700-7000 Inside Reserved-seat.jpg, N700-7000 series standard-class reserved car interior File:Series-N700-7000 Inside Ordinary-seat.jpg, N700-7000 series standard-class non-reserved car interior

800 series

Six-car 800 series services are formed as follows, with car 1 at the Kagoshima-Chūō (southern) end. All accommodation is ordinary class with 2+2 seating. All cars are no-smoking. On some train services, car 4 is also non-reserved. File:Shinkansen 800 Series Interior-3.jpg, Interior of an 800 series car

References

External links

JR Kyushu ''Tsubame'' information
{{JR Kyushu trains Railway services introduced in 1930 Railway services introduced in 2004 Named Shinkansen trains