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Shinkansen service·1 min read

Toki

とき

Toki is the principal service on the Joetsu Shinkansen, the high-speed line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between Tokyo and Niigata, with intermediate stops such as Ueno, Omiya, Takasaki and Echigo-Yuzawa that vary from train to train. It began with the opening of the Joetsu Shinkansen on 15 November 1982, when it became the name for the all-stations services, while the faster limited-stop workings were branded Asahi. The name is taken from the Japanese word for the crested ibis, for which Niigata is famous.

A JR East E4 series set P5 on the Max Toki 316 service from Niigata to Tokyo at Takasaki Station.
A JR East E4 series set P5 on the Max Toki 316 service from Niigata to Tokyo at Takasaki Station. — DAJF · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

The Toki name was discontinued from October 1997, when new all-stations Tanigawa services between Tokyo and Echigo-Yuzawa prompted a reorganisation of Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen train names; it was reinstated from December 2002 to replace the name Asahi for Tokyo-to-Niigata trains, returning after a five-year absence. Double-deck (bi-level) sets ran some workings as Max Asahi and, after the renaming, as Max Toki, from the E1 series in 1994 until the E4 series was retired at the beginning of October 2021, ending bi-level high-speed trains on Shinkansen services.

The current trains are E7 series twelve-car sets carrying Standard, Green and Gran Class accommodation, in use from 3 March 2019; earlier stock included the 200, E1, E2 and E4 series. At the 18 March 2023 timetable revision the E2 series was withdrawn from Toki and the line's operating speed was raised from 240 to 275 km/h, the maximum at which it runs today.

Timeline
  • 1962The Toki name is first introduced on 10 June 1962 for limited express services on the conventional Joetsu Line between Ueno and Niigata; this service runs until 14 November 1982, the day before the Joetsu Shinkansen opens.
  • 1982With the opening of the Joetsu Shinkansen on 15 November 1982, Toki becomes the name for the line's all-stations Shinkansen services, while the faster limited-stop workings are branded Asahi.
  • 1997From October 1997 the Toki name is discontinued in a reorganisation of Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen train names, following the introduction of new all-stations Tanigawa services between Tokyo and Echigo-Yuzawa.
  • 2002The Toki name is reinstated from December 2002 to replace Asahi for Tokyo-to-Niigata trains, returning after a five-year absence.
  • 2004At the 13 March 2004 revision the E2 series is withdrawn and the maximum speed of all trains is raised from 210 to 240 km/h; on 23 October 2004 the Chuetsu earthquake derails the Toki 325 service (200 series set K25) near the Takiya tunnel between Urasa and Nagaoka, the first in-service derailment of a Shinkansen train in Japan.
  • 2019E7 series twelve-car sets enter service on Toki (from the 3 March 2019 / 16 March 2019 timetable revision); they remain the current rolling stock.
  • 2021The E4 series is retired at the beginning of October 2021, ending scheduled Max Toki services and the operation of bi-level high-speed trains on the Shinkansen network.
  • 2023At the 18 March 2023 timetable revision the E2 series is removed from Toki services and the line's operating speed is increased from 240 to 275 km/h.

Sources
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