Hikari (Shinkansen)
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| Hikari | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Shinkansen 700 Series Hikari Rail Star at Shin-Osaka Station | |
| Service type | Super Express |
| Operator | JR Central, JR West |
| Line used | Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Sanyō Shinkansen |
| Started | 1964 2000 (Rail Star) |
| Rolling stock | 300/700/N700 series |
Hikari (ひかり?) is one of the train services running on the Japanese Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen "bullet train" lines. Slower than the Nozomi but faster than the Kodama, the Hikari is the fastest train service on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen that is covered in the Japan Rail Pass.
When the Shinkansen opened in 1964, Hikari was the fastest train on the line, travelling from Tokyo Station to Shin-Ōsaka Station with only two stops (Nagoya and Kyōto). Hikari service was extended to the Sanyō Shinkansen later, although the Hikari trains were only slightly faster than the Kodama trains, earning them the derisive nickname "Hidama."
JR Central Hikari services, which operate throughout the Tōkaidō/Sanyō corridor, currently use 16-car 700 Series and 300 Series trains. Most Hikari trains pull over at intermediate stations such as Shizuoka, Maibara or Himeji to allow faster services, mainly Nozomi trains, to pass through at top speed.
In March 2008, the new N700 Series Shinkansen was put into service on a morning Hikari service between Shin-Yokohama and Hiroshima stations, and a late night run between Tokyo and Nagoya.
JR West began operating the Hikari Rail Star service in 2000. This service is limited to the Sanyō Shinkansen, and uses special 8-car 700 Series trains with a distinctive livery and a maximum speed of 285 km/h. JR West introduced the service to provide better competition against airlines on the Osaka-Fukuoka route. The reserved seat cars on Hikari Rail Star trains feature a 2-2 seating arrangement instead of the 3-2 arrangement found on other Hikari. The front row of seats in these cars feature power points for laptop users.
The word hikari means "light" in Japanese.
Before and during World War II, Hikari was the name of the express train from Busan, Korea to Changchun, Manchuria. In the 1950s, the name was used for express trains from Fukuoka to Kagoshima and Beppu.
[edit] Hikari Stopping Patterns (As of March, 2008)
Key
● All trains stop
▲ Some trains stop
▬ No trains stop/Service does not run here
(###) Train numbers included in/excluded from table
NOTE: Stations not served by Hikari trains are not included in this table.
| Station | in Japanese | Ward / City | Distance (km) (from Tokyo) |
Tokyo - Hiroshima | Tokyo - Shin-Osaka | Tokyo - Nagoya | Nagoya - Hakata | Shin-Osaka - Hakata (Rail Star) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 東京 | Chiyoda, Tokyo | 0.0 | ● (ex. 393) |
● | ● | ▬ | ▬ |
| Shinagawa | 品川 | Minato, Tokyo | 6.8 | ● (ex. 393) |
● | ● | ▬ | ▬ |
| Shin-Yokohama | 新横浜 | Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama | 25.5 | ● | ● | ● | ▬ | ▬ |
| Odawara | 小田原 | Odawara, Kanagawa | 76.7 | ▬ | ▲ | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ |
| Atami | 熱海 | Atami, Shizuoka | 95.4 | ▲ | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ |
| Mishima | 三島 | Mishima, Shizuoka | 111.3 | ▲ | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ |
| Shizuoka | 静岡 | Aoi-ku, Shizuoka | 167.4 | ● | ▬ | ● | ▬ | ▬ |
| Hamamatsu | 浜松 | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | 238.9 | ● | ▬ | ● | ▬ | ▬ |
| Toyohashi | 豊橋 | Toyohashi, Aichi | 274.2 | ▬ | ▲ | ● | ▬ | ▬ |
| Nagoya | 名古屋 | Nakamura-ku, Nagoya | 342.0 | ● | ● | ● | ● | ▬ |
| Gifu-Hashima | 岐阜羽島 | Hashima, Gifu | 367.1 | ▬ | ● | ▬ | ● | ▬ |
| Maibara | 米原 | Maibara, Shiga | 408.2 | ▬ | ● | ▬ | ● | ▬ |
| Kyoto | 京都 | Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto | 476.3 | ● | ● | ▬ | ● | ▬ |
| Shin-Ōsaka | 新大阪 | Yodogawa-ku, Osaka | 515.4 | ● | ● | ▬ | ● | ● |
| Shin-Kobe | 新神戸 | Chūō-ku, Kobe | 548.0 | ● | ▬ | ▬ | ● | ● |
| Nishi-Akashi | 西明石 | Akashi, Hyōgo | 570.2 | ● | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (395 only) |
▬ |
| Himeji | 姫路 | Himeji, Hyōgo | 601.3 | ● | ▬ | ▬ | ● | ▲ |
| Aioi | 相生 | Aioi, Hyōgo | 621.3 | ● (ex. 387, 393) |
▬ | ▬ | ▲ (395 only) |
▬ |
| Okayama | 岡山 | Okayama, Okayama | 676.3 | ● (ex. 387) |
▬ | ▬ | ● | ● |
| Shin-Kurashiki | 新倉敷 | Kurashiki, Okayama | 702.1 | ▲ (362 only) |
▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (440 only) |
| Fukuyama | 福山 | Fukuyama, Hiroshima | 733.1 | ▲ (362, 393 only) |
▬ | ▬ | ▲ (390 only) |
▲ |
| Shin-Onomichi | 新尾道 | Onomichi, Hiroshima | 750.5 | ▲ (362 only) |
▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (440 only) |
| Mihara | 三原 | Mihara, Hiroshima | 761.0 | ▲ (362 only) |
▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (440, 489 only) |
| Higashi-Hiroshima | 東広島 | Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima | 791.9 | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (440 only) |
| Hiroshima | 広島 | Minami-ku, Hiroshima | 821.2 | ▲ (393 only) |
▬ | ▬ | ● | ● (440 starts) (489 ends) |
| Tokuyama | 徳山 | Shunan, Yamaguchi | 903.5 | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (390, 391 only) |
▲ |
| Shin-Yamaguchi | 新山口 | Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi | 944.6 | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (390, 391 only) |
▲ |
| Shin-Shimonoseki | 新下関 | Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi | 992.5 | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (391 only) |
▲ |
| Kokura | 小倉 | Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyūshū | 1013.2 | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (390, 391 only) |
● |
| Hakata | 博多 | Hakata-ku, Fukuoka | 1069.1 | ▬ | ▬ | ▬ | ▲ (390, 391 only) |
● |
