The is a luxury cruise train service in Japan, operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East). It formerly operated as a

limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

from July 1999 until March 2016, when scheduled service was discontinued due to the opening of the

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

. It ran between

Ueno Station is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other ...

in Tokyo and the city of

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

in the northern island of

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

. The one-way journey to Sapporo took approximately 16 hours. Cruise service is planned to be discontinued in June 2025.

Route

The original ''Cassiopeia'' ran on the following rail lines: JR East *

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...

, Ueno – Morioka IGR Iwate Ginga Railway * Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, Morioka – Metoki Aoimori Railway * Aoimori Railway Line, Metoki – Aomori JR East * Tsugaru Line, Aomori – Naka-Oguni JR Hokkaido *

Kaikyō Line The is an railway line operated mainly by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The line connected Naka-Oguni Station in Sotogahama, Aomori, through the Seikan Tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido, to Kikonai Station in Kikonai, Hokkai ...

, Naka-Oguni – Kikonai * Esashi Line, Kikonai – Goryōkaku *

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hakodate and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines that is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawa ...

, Goryōkaku – Hakodate – Oshamambe *

Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Oshamambe Station in Oshamambe, Hokkaido, Oshamambe and Iwamizawa Station in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Iwamizawa, approximately paralleling the coast of Ibu ...

, Oshamambe – Numanohata *

Chitose Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), connecting Numanohata Station, Numanohata, Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Tomakomai and Shiroishi Station (JR Hokkaido), Shiroishi Station in Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, link ...

, Numanohata – Shiroishi *

, Shiroishi – Sapporo The train changed direction at Aomori and Hakodate. Northbound trains to Sapporo departed from Ueno after 16:00, and called at , , , , , , and . The first stop in Hokkaido was at at 05:00 the following day, with arrival in Sapporo around 09:30. Southbound trains to Ueno departed from Sapporo after 16:00; the first stop after leaving Hokkaido was at Sendai, around 04:30 the following day, and the arrival time at Ueno Station around 09:30. The original Cassiopeia departed three times per week, with more departures during holiday periods.

Rolling stock

The train is formed of twelve E26 series sleeping cars, including a lounge car at the Sapporo end and a deluxe suite at the Ueno end. The locomotive power for charter services is provided by JR Freight, which include Class EF81 dual-voltage locomotives or Class EF64 locomotives from Ueno to Aomori, Class EH800 AC electric locomotives for the Seikan Tunnel and Class DF200 diesel locomotives for non-electrified routes in Hokkaido.

Former rolling stock

The original train was hauled by a JR East Tabata-based Class EF510-500 dual-voltage electric locomotive between Ueno and Aomori, by a JR Hokkaido ED79 AC electric locomotive between Aomori and Hakodate, and by a pair of JR Hokkaido DD51 diesel locomotives between Hakodate and Sapporo. Prior to June 2010, the services were hauled by JR East Class EF81 dual-voltage electric locomotives. File:EF510-510 Cassiopeia in Higashi-Jujo 20120429.jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' service in April 2012, hauled by JR East Class EF510-500 electric locomotive EF510-510 File:Cassiopeia ED79 14 20160318.jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' service at Hakodate Station in March 2016, hauled by JR Hokkaido Class ED79 electric locomotive ED79 14 File:Cassiopeia DD51 1143 20120904.jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' service in Hokkaido in September 2011, hauled by a pair of JR Hokkaido Class DD51 diesel locomotives File:JRE PC26 Cassiopeia 20070916 001.jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' service at Utsunomiya Station in September 2007, hauled by a JR East Class EF81 electric locomotive

Formation

Accommodation and fares

The ''Cassiopeia'' consists of all type "A" accommodation, all specific to this particular train. A flat fee is charged for all rooms, regardless of starting or ending location. Accommodation rates range from about ¥27,000 for a Cassiopeia Twin room to ¥51,000 for a Cassiopeia Suite. The other fares, the basic fare and limited express fare, are based on distance. For tourists using the

Japan Rail Pass The , also called the JR Pass, is a rail pass sold by the Japan Railways Group exclusively for overseas visitors. It is valid for travel on all major forms of transportation provided by the JR Group in Japan, with a few exceptions. The pass is de ...

during the original service, the basic fare did not have to be paid. However, there is a charge of about ¥5,500 each way for travelling on a section of railroad not owned by Japan Railways between Morioka and .

History

The ''Cassiopeia'' service from Ueno to Sapporo first ran on 16 July 1999. From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, smoking was banned in the restaurant car of ''Cassiopeia'' services.

End of scheduled services

The last scheduled ''Cassiopeia'' services were discontinued in March 2016 ahead of the opening of the

high-speed line. The last down service departed from Ueno Station in Tokyo on 19 March 2016, and the last up service departed from Sapporo on 20 March, arriving at Ueno on 21 March.

Cruise services

Neither JR East nor JR Hokkaido owns electric locomotives capable of operating through the Seikan Tunnel to and from Hokkaido after the overhead line voltage was raised from 20 kV to 25 kV AC with the opening of the

on 26 March 2016, but JR East leases JR Freight Class EH800 electric locomotives to haul the ''Cassiopeia'' trainset on seasonal services through the Seikan Tunnel after the Hokkaido Shinkansen opened. The coaches are also used on cruise train services to other destinations within the JR East region, which include

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

and

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

. Cruise services are planned to be discontinued by the end of June 2025. File:EF64 1030 EF81 95 Cassiopeia 20160604.jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' cruise train hauled by JR East Class EF64-1000 and EF81 electric locomotives in June 2016 File:EH800-3 Cassiopeia 20160717 (cropped).jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' cruise train hauled by JR Freight Class EH800 electric locomotive EH800-3 in Hokkaido in July 2016 File:DF200-61 Cassiopeia 20160717.jpg, A ''Cassiopeia'' cruise train hauled by JR Freight Class DF200 diesel locomotive DF200-61 in Hokkaido in July 2016

References

* JR Timetable, March 2008 issue

External links

* {{JR East trains Named passenger trains of Japan Hokkaido Railway Company East Japan Railway Company Night trains of Japan Railway services introduced in 1999 Railway services discontinued in 2016 1999 establishments in Japan 2016 disestablishments in Japan Cassiopeia_(charter train) Cassiopeia_(charter train)