The is a high-speed ''

shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

'' 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) between and on the

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced on 14 March 2015, but the name was first used for 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 ...

overnight " Blue Train"

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars ...

train service operated by

Japanese National Railways 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 ...

(JNR) and later by JR West from 1961 until 1994. It was named after Mount Tsurugi.

Service outline

, 18 return ''Tsurugi'' services operate daily as a shuttle between and , calling at en route, typically taking 23 minutes. Trains operate at a maximum speed of .

Rolling stock

* E7 series 12-car sets based at Nagano Depot, since 14 March 2015 * W7 series 12-car sets based at Hakusan Depot, since 14 March 2015 ''Tsurugi'' services are operated using JR East E7 series and JR West W7 series 12-car train sets based at Nagano and Hakusan depots respectively. File:E7 F12 Shin-Takaoka 20150314.jpg, A JR East E7 series train on the Hokuriku Shinkansen

Formations

''Tsurugi'' shinkansen services use 12-car JR East E7 series and JR West W7 series trainsets, formed as follows, with car 1 at the Toyama (eastern) end. Cars 1 to 7 are ordinary-class cars with 2+3 seating, car 11 is a "Green" car with 2+2 seating, and cars 8 to 10 and 12 are not available for passenger use. All cars are no-smoking.

History

Sleeping car ''Tsurugi''

The ''Tsurugi'' service was first introduced on 1 October 1961 as a

service operating between and . Regular ''Tsurugi'' services were discontinued from the start of the revised timetable on 4 December 1994.

Shinkansen ''Tsurugi''

From 14 March 2015, the name ''Tsurugi'' was reinstated for use on all-stations shuttle services operating between Toyama and Kanazawa following the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen beyond Nagano.

References

External links

JR West ''Tsurugi'' train information
{{JR West trains Named passenger trains of Japan West Japan Railway Company Railway services introduced in 1961 Railway services discontinued in 1994 Railway services introduced in 2015 2015 establishments in Japan Named Shinkansen trains