Kamoshika

Kamoshika
A Kamoshika service at Aomori Station in September 2007
Overview
Service typeLimited express
StatusDiscontinued
First service1986 (Express)
1997 (Limited express)
Last service2010
SuccessorTsugaru
Former operatorsJNR
JR East
Route
TerminiAkita
Aomori
Distance travelled185.8 km (115.5 mi)
Average journey time2 hours 36 minutes
Service frequency6 daily
Line usedŌu Main Line
On-board services
ClassGreen + standard
Technical
Rolling stock485 series EMU
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification20 kV AC
Operating speed95 km/h (60 mph)

The Kamoshika (かもしか; lit. "Japanese serow") was a limited express train service in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) which ran between Akita and Aomori via the Ōu Main Line. The service was discontinued from December 2010.

Service pattern

There were three services in each direction daily.

Rolling stock

Trains were normally formed of three-car 485 series EMUs based at Akita depot, sometimes strengthened to six cars during busy seasons. Green car (first class) accommodation was included in car 1.

The trains were formed as follows, with car 1 at the Akita end.

Car No.123
Numbering KuRoHa 481MoHa 484KuMoHa 485
Accommodation Green/OrdinaryOrdinaryOrdinary

History

169 series EMU with Kamoshika express service headboard stabled at Kami-Suwa Station in 1987

The Kamoshika was first introduced on 1 November 1986 as an express service operating between Kami-Suwa, Iida, and Nagano. This service was discontinued from the start of the revised timetable on 13 March 1988.

The Kamoshika name was revived from March 1997 as a limited express service operating between Akita and Aomori, replacing the former Tazawa limited express service which ran between Morioka and Aomori via Akita before the Akita Shinkansen was opened.

From the start of the revised timetable on 4 December 2010, the Kamoshika services were discontinued, replaced by Tsugaru services, formerly operating between Hachinohe and Hirosaki, which were amended to operate between Aomori and Akita.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. 2008. p. 80. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
  2. ↑ 日本と世界の鉄道カタログ'97~'98 [Japan and World Railway Catalogue 1997-1998] (in Japanese). Japan: Seibido Publishing. 17 August 1997. p. 146. ISBN 4-415-09254-3.
  3. ↑ 列車名鑑1995 [Train Name Directory 1995]. Japan: Railway Journal. August 1995. p. 124.
  4. ↑ こだわりの新幹線＆特急列車ガイド [In-depth Shinkansen & Limited Express Guide]. Japan: Ikaros Publishing. August 2000. ISBN 4-87149-284-2.
  5. ↑ 12月4日ダイヤ改正後の青森地区列車運転体系 [Operating pattern of Aomori area trains following 4 December timetable revision]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 39, no. 320. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. December 2010. pp. 24–25.