Hayate (train service)

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Hayate (はやて) is the fastest service on the Tōhoku Shinkansen, and is the only shinkansen service which goes as far as Iwate-Numakunai, Ninohe stations, and the current terminus of Hachinohe. It runs at a top speed of 275 km/h, except for a couple of restricted sections (110 km/h Tokyo-Ōmiya; 260 km/h Morioka-Hachinohe). These services were inaugurated with the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen extension to Hachinohe on December 1, 2002.

The name Hayate has not been used previously on any train service in Japan. The name was chosen with input from the public; roughly translated, it means a strong or violent wind; however, it carries positive connotations of speed and power--ideal for use with a Shinkansen. The Hayate service uses E2 Series Shinkansen units coupled to 10 cars with 15 return trips a day operating between Tokyo and Hachinohe, with one return trip between Sendai and Hachinohe.

Hayate services are coupled with Komachi services as far as Morioka, where the Komachi cars are uncoupled and proceed on to Akita via the Akita Shinkansen. Due to the popularity of the quick train service from Tokyo to the Tōhoku region, passengers on both the Hayate and Komachi cars must have seat reservations, and thus an additional reserved seat surcharge is also applied to the ticket price.