EN·日本語

Shinkansen service·1 min read

Tsurugi

つるぎ

The Tsurugi is a local-type, all-stations shuttle service on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Toyama and Tsuruga. The Shinkansen service began on 14 March 2015, when the line opened beyond Nagano to Kanazawa, and the name Tsurugi — taken from Mount Tsurugi in the Tateyama range along the Hokuriku Main Line — was reinstated for all-stations shuttle workings running between Toyama and Kanazawa. The name had been chosen by public vote, where it placed fourth (Hakutaka was first).

A JR West W7 series set, the stock used by the Tsurugi, on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Shin-Takaoka and Kanazawa.
A JR West W7 series set, the stock used by the Tsurugi, on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Shin-Takaoka and Kanazawa. — i北陸 (i Hokuriku) · CC BY 2.1 jp · Wikimedia Commons

History

The new shuttle filled a gap created by the opening: previously, more than half of the Thunderbird limited expresses from the Keihanshin direction and many of the Shirasagi from the Nagoya direction had run beyond Kanazawa to Toyama, but with the Shinkansen opening and the conversion of the parallel conventional line to a third-sector railway, limited expresses east of Kanazawa were abolished (apart from Nanao Line through services), and Tsurugi replaced them, connecting at Kanazawa with the Thunderbird and Shirasagi.

When the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended to Tsuruga on 16 March 2024, Tsurugi workings were lengthened to run between Toyama and Tsuruga, and many trains began connecting at Tsuruga with the Thunderbird and Shirasagi limited expresses. As of that date, 25 return Tsurugi services operate daily, with some stopping at every station en route. Trains run at a maximum speed of 260 km/h. The 2024 revision also introduced, for the first time on this service, faster workings with skipped stations — express-type trains that call only at Fukui between Kanazawa and Tsuruga.

Services are formed of twelve-car E7 series sets from JR East, based at Nagano Depot, and W7 series sets from JR West, based at Hakusan Depot, both in use on the route since 14 March 2015. The trains carry ordinary, Green and Gran Class accommodation, with wheelchair-accessible facilities in cars 7 and 11.

Timeline
  • 2013On 10 October 2013, JR East and JR West announce the train names for the Hokuriku Shinkansen's Nagano–Kanazawa opening, with Tsurugi adopted for the Toyama–Kanazawa shuttle-type service.
  • 2015On 14 March 2015, with the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen beyond Nagano to Kanazawa, the Tsurugi name is reinstated for all-stations shuttle services between Toyama and Kanazawa; the service launches with 18 round trips numbered 700–735, using twelve-car E7 and W7 sets.
  • 2024From the revised timetable on 16 March 2024, the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Kanazawa to Tsuruga opens and the Tsurugi operating range is extended to Toyama–Tsuruga, with many workings connecting at Tsuruga with the Thunderbird and Shirasagi; for the first time on this service, faster workings with skipped stations are introduced.
  • 2025From the 15 March 2025 timetable revision, Tsurugi 11 begins originating at Toyama and Tsurugi 27 at Kanazawa.
  • 2026From 14 March 2026, a new weekday-only Tsurugi 91 is planned, restoring a working that had previously been the Oyasumi Express.
  • 1961Predecessor history: the Tsurugi name was first introduced on 1 October 1961 as a JNR limited express between Osaka and Niigata, long before the Shinkansen service.
  • 1994Predecessor history: regular Tsurugi limited-express services are discontinued from the start of the revised timetable on 4 December 1994.

Sources
← All train services Articles