The is a

limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

train service between

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

and

Wakkanai file:Wakkanai city office.JPG, 290px, Wakkanai City Hall file:Wakkanai shore.jpg, 290px, Shore of Wakkanai is a Cities of Japan, city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Wakkanai is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. Situated approx ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, Japan, which is operated by

Hokkaido Railway Company The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart ...

(JR Hokkaido). Two trains per day operate in each direction, with the journey taking approximately 3 hours 45 minutes.

Stations

Trains stop at the following stations: - - - - - - - - - -

Rolling stock

Services are normally formed of 4-car

KiHa 261 series The is a tilting train, tilting diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on limited express services in Hokkaido, Japan, since 2000. Design The running gear was based on the KiHa 201 series tra ...

DMUs, with Car No. 1 at the Wakkanai end and Car No. 4 at the Asahikawa end. Car No. 1 consists of both ordinary-class seats and the Green Car, while the other cars are ordinary-class cars. All seats are non-smoking. Up until 2007, an additional was attached to the train during busy seasons."JR新幹線&特急列車ファイル" (JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File), published 2008 by Kōtsū Shimbun

History

One of the Sōya services changed its name to ''Sarobetsu'' on July 1, 1992. At that time both Sōya and Sarobetsu ran between and . However, the ''Sarobetsu'' service had no green cars, in contrast to Sōya, and stopped at these stations: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The ''Sarobetsu'' service was suspended, as the KiHa 183 series, which was the same type of train used for the service at that time, was involved in a fire on the

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hakodate and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines that is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawa ...

in July 2013. The service was supposed to resume the following month, but was delayed due to the accident investigation and resulting preventative measures. The suspension ended on March 31, 2014. In the meantime, a temporary rapid train service replaced the ''Sarobetsu.'' From the start of the revised timetable of 4 March 2017, the ''Sarobetsu'' service was re-routed to operate between Asahikawa and Wakkanai, when the ''

Lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly ...

'' was introduced between

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

and Asahikawa. Also, the KiHa 261 series sets were used to replace the ageing KiHa 183 series sets.

References

External links

''Sarobetsu'' information on JR Hokkaido official website
{{Hokkaidō transit Hokkaido Railway Company Named passenger trains of Japan Railway services introduced in 1992 1992 establishments in Japan ja:サロベツ (列車)