The is a high-speed ''

shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

(JR West) between and on the

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced on 14 March 2015, but the name was first used for a limited express service operated by

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

(JNR) from 1965 until 1982, and later by JR West and

Hokuetsu Express The is a Japanese railway line in Niigata Prefecture that runs from Muikamachi in Minamiuonuma City to Saigata in Jōetsu City. It is the sole railway line operated by . Construction of the line first began in 1968 by the Japanese National ...

between 1997 and March 2015.

Service outline

, 14 return ''Hakutaka'' services operate daily between and , with one additional return working daily between and Kanazawa. Trains operate at a maximum speed of . ''Hakutaka'' services stop at the following stations. Not all trains stop at stations marked with an asterisk. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rolling stock

E7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. It a ...

12-car sets based at Nagano Depot, since 14 March 2015 *

W7 series The and Shinkansen are Japanese high-speed train types operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), respectively. They were jointly developed. The E7 series has operated since 15 March 2014. I ...

12-car sets based at Hakusan Depot, since 14 March 2015 ''Hakutaka'' services are operated using JR East

and JR West

12-car train sets based at Nagano and Hakusan depots respectively. File:Series-E7-F19.jpg, A JR East E7 series train

Pre-shinkansen

* 485 series EMUs *

681 series __NOTOC__ Year 681 ( DCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 681 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

EMUs owned by JR West * 681-2000 series EMUs owned by Hokuetsu Express * 683-8000 series EMUs owned by Hokuetsu Express Limited express services from March 1997 until March 2015 were operated with 6- or 9-car (6+3-car)

or 683-8000 series EMU trains owned by JR West or Hokuetsu Express. Green (first class) car accommodation was provided in car 1. File:Hokuhoku line hakutaka16 service.JPG, A JR West 681 series, February 2015 File:Hokuhoku line hakutaka13 service.JPG, A Hokuetsu Express 681-2000 series, September 2014 File:HokuetsuExpress683-8000.JPG, A Hokuetsu Express 683-8000 series, July 2007

Formations

''Hakutaka'' shinkansen services use 12-car JR East

and JR West

trainsets, formed as follows, with car 1 at the Tokyo (southern) end. Cars 1 to 10 are ordinary-class cars with 2+3 seating, car 11 is a "Green" car with 2+2 seating, and car 12 is a "Gran Class" car with 2+1 seating. All cars are no-smoking.

History

October 1965 – November 1982

The ''Hakutaka'' service was first introduced on 1 October 1965 as a limited express service operating between in Tokyo and via . This was discontinued from 15 November 1982.

March 1997 – March 2015

Hokuetsu Express 683-8000 Hakutaka 25 Kanazawa 20150313

The ''Hakutaka'' name was reinstated from 23 March 1997 for use on new limited express services jointly operated by JR West and

connecting Kanazawa with on the Joetsu Shinkansen via the newly built

Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line The is a Japanese railway line in Niigata Prefecture that runs from Muikamachi in Minamiuonuma City to Saigata in Jōetsu City. It is the sole railway line operated by . Construction of the line first began in 1968 by the Japanese National ...

, operating at a maximum speed of . ''Hakutaka'' services operated at approximately hourly intervals between Kanazawa and Echigo-Yuzawa, with one return service daily starting and terminating at Fukui. One return working daily operated between and Echigo-Yuzawa. Services stopped at the following stations.JR Timetable, October 2013 issue, pp. 123–124 () – – – – – – – The last ''Hakutaka'' limited express service ran on 13 March 2015, replaced by new high-speed shinkansen services from the start of the revised timetable introduced the following day.

Shinkansen ''Hakutaka'', (March 2015 – )

From 14 March 2015, the name ''Hakutaka'' was transferred to new shinkansen services operating between Tokyo and Kanazawa following the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen beyond Nagano.

References

External links

JR West ''Hakutaka'' train information
{{JR East trains Named passenger trains of Japan East Japan Railway Company West Japan Railway Company Railway services introduced in 1965 1965 establishments in Japan Railway services introduced in 2015 2015 establishments in Japan Named Shinkansen trains