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| Raichō |
 |
| 485 series Raichō train with panorama cab car, (December 2006) |
| Service type |
Limited express |
| Operator |
JR West |
| Started |
1964
|
681 series EMU on
Thunderbird service (May 2006)
Raichō (雷鳥) is a limited express train that runs between Osaka and Kanazawa, Japan, using portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line, Kosei Line, and Hokuriku Main Line. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West).
The Thunderbird (サンダーバード), is a faster version of the Raichō that continues beyond Kanazawa into Toyama Prefecture. This service was introduced in April 1995 as the Super Raichō (Thunderbird) using new 681 series EMUs, before becoming simply Thunderbird from March 1997.
The characters 雷鳥 mean literally "thunder/lightning" and "bird" in Japanese, but the compound word 雷鳥 (raichō) itself is the name of Lagopus mutus, a kind of ptarmigan or grouse, not a mythological creature. The raichō bird is said to live in the Mount Tate range and is the prefectural bird of Toyama, Nagano, and Gifu Prefectures.
[edit] Rolling stock used
[edit] Raichō
- 485 series EMUs
- 583 series EMUs (seasonal use only)
[edit] Thunderbird
- 681 series EMUs (since April 1995)
- 683 series EMUs (since March 2001)
[edit] Rape incident
On 3 August 2006, a woman was raped by a man in a train toilet while travelling on the Thunderbird 50 service, despite the car being occupied by approximately 40 other passengers.[1] As a result, JR West introduced a "women-only" section in the reserved-seating cars of Raichō and Thunderbird trains from October 2007, and JR East added prominent "SOS" stickers inside all of its trains in June 2007.[2] On January 17, 2008, district court in Otsu sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "Train rapist took advantage of passengers' apathy, fear in night of terror" Japan Today 2007-05-02
- ^ "'SOS' stickers going up in every JR East car" The Japan Times, 2007-05-24
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