Ginga (train)

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Ginga (銀河, Ginga^?) is an overnight sleeper train operating on the Tokaido Main Line between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. It is operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

Ginga follows a similar route to the much faster Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed line, and fills the overnight gap in the Shinkansen's timetable. While the last Osaka-Tokyo Shinkansen trains depart at 9:18 PM (in either direction), Ginga departs Osaka at 10:30 PM and Tokyo at 11:00 PM, and arrives over an hour before the first Shinkansen arrival the next morning. This has made it somewhat popular among business travelers who need a later departure or earlier arrival than the Shinkansen can provide.

However, the numerous overnight buses on the Tokyo-Osaka route have largely captured the budget traveler market, while late evening and early morning flights to Kansai Airport (which opened in 1994 and does not have the noise restrictions facing Osaka Airport) are now used by many business travelers who would otherwise have used Ginga. As a result, Ginga's ridership has fallen dramatically in recent years.

[edit] Trains

Ginga trains consist of an EF65-1000 electric locomotive, one "A-class" (first class) sleeper car, and seven "B-class" (second-class) sleeper cars. Type 24 sleeping cars are used on this train.

[edit] Stations

The westbound Ginga 101 stops at Tokyo, Shinagawa, Yokohama, Ofuna, Odawara, Atami, Shizuoka, Gifu, Maibara, Otsu, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka and Osaka.

The eastbound Ginga 102 stops at Osaka, Shin-Osaka, Kyoto, Otsu, Maibara, Nagoya, Fuji, Numazu, Atami, Odawara, Ofuna, Yokohama, Shinagawa, and Tokyo.