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Shinkansen service·2 min read

Kodama

こだま

Kodama is the slowest, all-stops train service on Japan's Tōkaidō and San'yō Shinkansen, used primarily for travel to and from the smaller cities along the route. Because it calls everywhere, a Kodama waits at most intermediate stations for the faster Nozomi, Hikari, Sakura and Mizuho to pass before resuming, so its timings are much longer than the faster tiers: a daytime Tokyo–Shin-Ōsaka Kodama takes about 3 hours 57 minutes (March 2019 timetable), of which roughly 35 minutes is time stopped for connections and passing waits. No single Kodama runs the whole Tokyo–Hakata distance, so a transfer at Shin-Ōsaka is required, and many San'yō Kodama services run through beyond Hakata onto the Hakataminami Line, where the train is treated as an unnamed conventional limited express.

A JR West 500 series set V4 at Nishi-Akashi Station on a Kodama service.
A JR West 500 series set V4 at Nishi-Akashi Station on a Kodama service. — Takeshi Kuboki from Amagasaki, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

The name predates the Shinkansen. Kodama debuted as a limited express on the Tōkaidō Main Line on 1 November 1958 using 151 series trainsets — the first electric-multiple-unit service of the Japanese National Railways classified as a limited express, then the highest (fastest) of train types. It ran Tokyo–Osaka in six hours 50 minutes and first let passengers travel there and back in one day, which is why it was named Kodama, meaning "echo." On 31 July 1959 a 151 series Kodama set set a narrow-gauge rail world speed record of 163 km/h, and the conventional train ran until 30 September 1964, the day before the name passed to the Shinkansen.

The Shinkansen Kodama began on 1 October 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka, covering that section in five hours with all seats reserved, and was extended west as the San'yō Shinkansen opened to Okayama on 15 March 1972 and to Hakata in 1975, while longer-distance through travel went to Hikari and later Nozomi. Today it uses the same 700 and N700 series stock as Hikari and Nozomi; 100 and 300 series trains also ran San'yō Kodama services until withdrawn in 2012, and from December 2008 reconfigured eight-car 500 series sets replaced the withdrawn San'yō 0 series. Tōkaidō Kodama speed was raised to 270 km/h in October 2003, with the line ceiling quoted at 285 km/h. From the 17 March 2012 revision the last 100 series K sets were withdrawn, eight-car 700 series E sets became entirely non-smoking, and on-board sales ceased; finally, after an October 2023 announcement by JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu, on-board smoking rooms on the Tōkaidō, San'yō and Kyūshū Shinkansen were removed on 16 March 2024.

Timeline
  • 1958Kodama debuts as a limited express on the Tōkaidō Main Line on 1 November 1958, using 151 series trainsets — the first JNR electric-multiple-unit service classified as a limited express. It runs Tokyo–Osaka in 6 hours 50 minutes, enabling a same-day round trip, hence the name 'echo.'
  • 1959On 31 July 1959 a 151 series Kodama trainset establishes a narrow-gauge rail world speed record of 163 km/h.
  • 1964The conventional Kodama runs until 30 September 1964; the next day, 1 October 1964, the Shinkansen Kodama begins between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka (covering the section in five hours, all seats reserved).
  • 1972Kodama's range expands westward with the San'yō Shinkansen: the line opens to Okayama on 15 March 1972 (Kodama serving every station on it) and is extended to Hakata in 1975.
  • 2003From the 1 October 2003 timetable revision the Tōkaidō Shinkansen Kodama's maximum speed is raised to 270 km/h, cutting the standard Tokyo–Shin-Ōsaka time by 10 minutes to four hours.
  • 2008In December 2008 (1 December 2008) reconfigured eight-car 500 series sets enter San'yō Shinkansen Kodama service, replacing the withdrawn 0 series.
  • 2012From the 17 March 2012 revision the remaining 100 series K sets are withdrawn from Kodama services, eight-car 700 series E sets become entirely non-smoking, and on-board trolley/sales service is discontinued.
  • 2024Following a joint 17 October 2023 announcement by JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu, on-board smoking rooms on the Tōkaidō, San'yō and Kyūshū Shinkansen are abolished, taking effect on 16 March 2024.

Sources
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