is a

limited express A limited express is a type of express train service. It refers to an express service that stops at a limited number of stops in comparison to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a commo ...

train operated by

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Stra ...

in Japan. It operates between

Hakata is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the locatio ...

and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

on the

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its t ...

and the

Nagasaki Main Line The , or simply Nagasaki Line, is a railway line owned by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) connecting Tosu Station in Saga Prefecture to Nagasaki Station in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. There is a separate branch of this line from Kikits ...

. ''Kamome'' means

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

in Japanese. As of 23 September 2022, the name was inherited by the new Shinkansen service to Nagasaki, at which point the remaining limited express services between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata were renamed ''Relay Kamome''.

History

The ''Kamome'' name (written as "鷗") was first used from 1 July 1937 on limited express trains operating between Tokyo and

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, w ...

. This service continued until February 1943. The name (written as "かもめ") was subsequently revived from 15 March 1953 for use on limited express services operating between

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

and

. This service was discontinued in March 1975 with the completion of the Sanyō Shinkansen to Hakata. On 1 July 1976, with the electrification of the Nagasaki Main Line, services resumed (initially between

Kokura is an ancient castle town and the center of Kitakyushu, Japan, guarding the Straits of Shimonoseki between Honshu and Kyushu with its suburb Moji. Kokura is also the name of the penultimate station on the southbound San'yō Shinkansen li ...

and

, later between Hakata and Nagasaki) using 485 series EMUs. The service in its current form commenced on 23 September 2022, with the opening of the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen which opened from Takeo-Onsen to

. With the Shinkansen now being the primary route to Nagasaki, ''Kamome'' services were reallocated to Shinkansen services on the newly-built Shinkansen line. This also resulted in Kamome services skipping Hizen-Kashima, a major station on the Nagasaki Main line but not on the Shinkansen, to be served by the newly-introduced ''Kasasagi'' limited express.

Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen

On 28 October 2020, JR Kyushu announced it would utilize a 6-car version of the N700S series for the isolated section of

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 ...

from Nagasaki, named the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, with a cross platform interchange to a relay service called Relay Kamome at to connect to Hakata. JR Kyushu also announced it would continue to use the name ''Kamome'', which has been in use since 1961, for the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen service. Most of the new ''Kamome'' Shinkansen services stop at every station between Takeo-Onsen and

, with some services bypassing Ureshino-Onsen, with a few services only stopping at Isahaya. Between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata, the so-called ''Relay Kamome'' will continue as a non-Shinkansen train service for the foreseeable future until the Shinkansen is eventually extended to Hakata. Some ''Midori/Huis Ten Bosch'' services will also operate as an additional Relay Kamome at Takeo-Onsen styled as either ''Midori (Relay Kamome)'' or ''Huis Ten Bosch (Relay Kamome).''

Rolling stock

Current rolling stock

Relay Kamome

787 series The is an AC electric multiple unit type operated on limited express services by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan since July 1992. Design The trains were built jointly by Hitachi and Kinki Sharyo. Formations 7-car sets (BM1–11, B ...

EMUs * 885 series tilting EMUs (branded ''Shiroi Kamome'' and ''Shiroi Sonic'', since 2000)

Kamome

* N700S Series Shinkansen (since 2022)

Former rolling stock

485 series The (and the earlier 481 and 483 series variants) is a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type introduced in 1964 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and subsequently operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), We ...

EMUs *

783 series __NOTOC__ Year 783 ( DCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 783 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in ...

EMUs(initially branded ''Hyper Saloon'', since 1988)

Station stops

Relay Kamome

Stations in parentheses are not served by all trains. * - () - - - ( Yoshinogari-Kōen) - - () -

Kamome

Legend:

Special stops

* Balloon Saga: Some trains heading towards Nagasaki stop here during the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

References

* JR Timetable, December 2008 * {{JR Kyushu trains Kyushu Railway Company Nagasaki Main Line Named passenger trains of Japan Railway services introduced in 1937 1937 establishments in Japan