Nozomi (train)

Nozomi
N700 Series Nozomi, April 2009
Overview
Service type Shinkansen
First service 1934 (Express)
1992 (Shinkansen)
Current operator(s) JR Central, JR West
Route
Start Tokyo
End Hakata
Line(s) used Tokaido Shinkansen
Sanyo Shinkansen
On-board services
Class(es) Green/standard
Catering facilities Trolley service
Technical
Rolling stock 700/N700 series
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 25 kV AC overhead
Operating speed 300 km/h (185 mph)

Nozomi (のぞみ, "Wish") is the fastest train service running on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen lines in Japan. The service stops at only the largest stations, and along the stretch between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, Nozomi services using N700 series equipment reach speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph). The trip between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 515 kilometres, takes 2 hours 22 minutes on the fastest Nozomi.[1]

The trains stop at fewer stations than the Hikari and Kodama trains. On the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Nozomi trains stop at Tokyo Station, Shinagawa Station, Shin-Yokohama Station, Nagoya Station, Kyoto Station, and Shin-Ōsaka Station.[1] On the Sanyō Shinkansen, all Nozomi trains stop at Shin-Kobe Station, Okayama Station, Hiroshima Station, Kokura Station, and Hakata Station, but certain trains stop at additional stations as well. The Nozomi train service is not valid for foreign tourists travelling with a Japan Rail Pass.[2]

The word nozomi in Japanese means "hope" or "wish".

Stopping patterns (as of August 2011)

Key

● All trains stop
○ Some trains stop
△ Few trains stop
1 Some trains begin/terminate in Nishi-Akashi, Himeji, Okayama or Hiroshima.
2 Some trains begin/terminate in Nagoya.

Note: Basic Nozomi stopping patterns are shown. Additional Nozomi trains with differing stopping patterns are added during holiday and high-peak travel periods, and are not included in this table.

Station Distance (km)
(from Tokyo)		 Tokyo - Hakata1 Tokyo-
Shin-Osaka2		 Nagoya - Hakata
Tokyo 0.0 ● ●  
Shinagawa 6.8 ● ●  
Shin-Yokohama 25.5 ● ●  
Nagoya 342.0 ● ● ●
Kyoto 476.3 ● ● ●
Shin-Ōsaka 515.4 ● ● ●
Shin-Kobe 548.0 ●   ●
Nishi-Akashi 570.2 ○   -
Himeji 601.3 ○   -
Okayama 676.3 ●   ●
Fukuyama 733.1 ○   ○
Hiroshima 821.2 ●   ●
Tokuyama 903.5 ○   -
Shin-Yamaguchi 944.6 ○   ○
Kokura 1013.2 ●   ●
Hakata 1069.1 ●   ●

Rolling stock

Former rolling stock

Formations

Trains are formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Hakata end, and car 16 at the Tokyo end.[3][4]

N700 series

Car No.12345678910111213141516
Class Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved
Facilities WC WC / smoking compartmentCardphoneWCVending machineWC / smoking compartment WC / cardphoneSmoking compartmentVending machine / WC / wheelchair spaceCardphoneWC Smoking compartment / WC / cardphone 

(All cars are no-smoking, except for smoking compartments located in cars 3, 7, 10, and 15)

700 series

Car No.12345678910111213141516
Class Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved
Facilities WCCardphoneWC / vending machine WCCardphoneWC WC Vending machine / WC / wheelchair spaceCardphoneWC Vending machine / WC / cardphone 
Smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking Smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking Smoking Smoking

History

Wartime steam services

The Nozomi name was first used for long-distance express services operated between Busan in Japanese-occupied Korea and Mukden (now Shenyang) in the former Manchukuo (now China) from 1934.[5] From 1938, the services were extended to run between Busan and Hsinking (now Changchun) in Manchukuo. The 1,530 km journey from Busan to Hsinking took over 29 hours, with an average speed of 52 km/h (32 mph). The services were run down between 1943 and 1944.[5]

Shinkansen services

Nozomi shinkansen services commenced on March 14, 1992 using new 300 series trainsets with a top speed of 270 km/h. From March 1997, 500 series trainsets were introduced on Tokyo - Hakata Nozomi services, running at a maximum speed of 300 km/h and covering the section between Shin-Osaka and Hakata in 2 hours 17 minutes.

700 series trains were introduced on Nozomi services in 1999, and N700 series trains were introduced from July 1, 2007, initially with four daily round-trip runs. All regularly scheduled through Nozomi services to the Sanyo Shinkansen (Tokyo–Hakata) were operated by N700 series sets from 13 March 2010. From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, all regularly scheduled Nozomi services, including runs limited to the Tokaido Shinkansen, were operated by N700 sets.

See also

References

  • JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
  • JR Timetable, March 2008 issue
  1. 1 2 Hyperdia: Shin-Osaka–Tokyo timetable for 2009-06-11
  2. ↑ "About Japan Rail Pass". Japan: Japan Railways Group. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  3. ↑ JR Timetable, August 2011, p.997
  4. ↑ 新幹線　車両大全 [Shinkansen Cars Encyclopedia]. Tokyo, Japan: Ikaros Publications Ltd. November 2011. pp. 60–135. ISBN 978-4-86320-526-0.
  5. 1 2 JR急行・快速列車 [JR Express & Rapid Trains]. Tokyo, Japan: Railway Journal. 2 November 1991. p. 127.
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