EN·日本語

Shinkansen service·2 min read

Hayabusa

はやぶさ

The Hayabusa is the express, top-tier high-speed Shinkansen service of the Tōhoku and Hokkaidō Shinkansen, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Scheduled trains run northward from Tokyo to Sendai, Morioka, Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, the through-running onto the Hokkaidō Shinkansen having begun on 26 March 2016. Within the Japanese network the Tōhoku Shinkansen is the longest Shinkansen line and carries the country's highest scheduled operating speed: Hayabusa trains reach 320 km/h over roughly 387.5 km between Utsunomiya and Morioka. Beyond Morioka, on the Seikan-Tunnel approaches to Hokkaidō, speeds are lower, and the fastest end-to-end Tokyo–Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto run takes about 3 hours 57 minutes. Most services operate coupled with the Komachi between Tokyo and Morioka, where the two trains uncouple and the Komachi turns onto the Akita Shinkansen.

JR East E5 series set U3 approaching Omiya Station on the Hayabusa 4 service to Tokyo.
JR East E5 series set U3 approaching Omiya Station on the Hayabusa 4 service to Tokyo. — Toshinori baba · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

Hayabusa services are normally formed of 10-car E5-series sets (JR East) or H5-series sets (JR Hokkaido, used on the Hokkaidō section); all seats are reserved and non-smoking, and the trains carry premium GranClass accommodation with complimentary food and drinks, including alcohol. The name itself — written はやぶさ and meaning the peregrine falcon — had earlier belonged to a JR Kyushu limited express sleeping-car service that ran from Tokyo to Kumamoto and was discontinued in March 2009; that earlier Hayabusa had first run on 1 October 1958, originally between Tokyo and Kagoshima.

The Shinkansen Hayabusa began on 5 March 2011, when the name was revived for new 300 km/h services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori using newly built E5-series trainsets. The maximum speed was raised to 320 km/h from the timetable revision of 16 March 2013; although test running had reached up to 400 km/h, the service speed was fixed at 320 km/h from 2012 for passenger and environmental comfort. With the opening of the Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto on 26 March 2016, the Hayabusa name was extended to Tokyo–Sendai–Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto services, with ten return workings a day between Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and one return working between Sendai and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto.

Timeline
  • 1958The original Hayabusa, a Tokyo–Kagoshima sleeping-car limited express, commences service on 1 October 1958 (the name later passed to the Shinkansen service).
  • 2009The Hayabusa sleeping-car service (running by then to Kumamoto) is discontinued in March 2009 due to declining ridership, freeing the name.
  • 2010In March 2010 JR East holds a public name solicitation for its new flagship Tohoku Shinkansen service; "Hayabusa" is chosen from the results.
  • 2011On 5 March 2011 the Hayabusa name is revived for new 300 km/h E5-series Shinkansen services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori, JR East's top-tier Tohoku Shinkansen train.
  • 2013From the 16 March 2013 timetable revision the maximum speed is raised to 320 km/h between Utsunomiya and Morioka, cutting the fastest Tokyo–Shin-Aomori time to 2 hours 59 minutes.
  • 2014On 20 November 2014 it is announced that the Tokyo/Sendai–Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto trains over the forthcoming Hokkaido Shinkansen will carry the Hayabusa name.
  • 2016On 26 March 2016 the Hokkaido Shinkansen (Shin-Aomori–Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto) opens and Hayabusa begins through-running; ten daily return services run Tokyo–Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto plus one Sendai–Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto.

Sources
← All train services Articles