Jump to content

New Twilight Express launched


Recommended Posts

I think they're doing this as kind of a "practice" in preparation for the new luxury cruise train coming to JR West in a few years' time.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Yes.. & with a price tag of 300,000 yen for normal suites & 350,000 yen for royal suites... ouch...

Link to comment

I think they're doing this as kind of a "practice" in preparation for the new luxury cruise train coming to JR West in a few years' time.

 

Yes it seems like it.  The train departed Osaka, went up to Tsuruga and reversed there, coming back on the other side of Like Biwa (doesn't say which side was first), and continued to Shimonoseki.  Passengers returned from there via shinkansen.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing their new luxury train on middle-of-nowhere western Honshu lines that haven't had express service since the '60s.

Link to comment

Slightly off-topic, but I think JR West's new luxury trainset will likely operate on most JR West lines that already see fairly long trains now, including the Bantan Line, Chizu Line, Hakubi Line, Yamaguchi Line and the San'in Main Line between Tottori and Masuda. I would be very surprised if they can make it run on the San'in Main Line between Kinosaki Onsen and Tottori.

Edited by Sacto1985
Link to comment

I'd think that the Sanin Line end to end would be fine.  I'm interested to see if there will be appearances on the deep inaka lines like the Imbi, Kishin, Geibi, Kisuki, Sanko, and Mine.  I think a lot of those stations still haven't changed since JNR built them (and the platforms) to berth longer express formations.

 

Miyoshi, for example, a small city where the Sanko Line meets the Geibi Line, looks like its platforms are about 170m long (560ft), which is enough for about 8 cars I think.  In the aerial Google map, you can see a 2-car KIHA47 set at platform 1, and on the far side of the island platform (3?) there's a single KIHA120.  Map: https://goo.gl/maps/WnWgC

 

Here's a 360 degree image on the platform of Kasubuchi on the Sanko Line.  Pretty rural, and although it's difficult to judge distance from this, it looks like it holds at least 4 cars: https://goo.gl/maps/iCPdu

 

So, if there are no issues with axle loading, it seems like there are a lot of options.

Link to comment
NuclearErick

Yes it seems like it.  The train departed Osaka, went up to Tsuruga and reversed there, coming back on the other side of Like Biwa (doesn't say which side was first), and continued to Shimonoseki.  Passengers returned from there via shinkansen.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing their new luxury train on middle-of-nowhere western Honshu lines that haven't had express service since the '60s.

 

yes, around 2:50 shows the route

Link to comment

The inside looks nice.  It is good to use the old consist like this.

 

A clockwise loop around Lake Biwako and then the full length of the Sanyo Main Line.  And a deviation on the on the Kure Line.

Link to comment

Note that the train does NOT go beyond Shimonoseiki. I wonder why, given that EF81 103 is a dual-voltage locomotive; maybe EF81 103 doesn't have the cab signalling system compatible with what JR Kyushu uses nowadays?

Link to comment

Here's a 360 degree image on the platform of Kasubuchi on the Sanko Line.  Pretty rural, and although it's difficult to judge distance from this, it looks like it holds at least 4 cars: https://goo.gl/maps/iCPdu

 

The rails are rusted heading east from the station, so it looks like this is currently the end of line - to the extent that the photo is current.

Link to comment
bikkuri bahn

Note that the train does NOT go beyond Shimonoseiki. I wonder why,

 

It's a JR West service.  Stays in JR West territory.  When you're running a luxury cruise train where people are not going anywhere in the traditional sense, you want to keep all the revenue to yourself, not split with another company (in this case, JR Kyushu).

Link to comment

The rails are rusted heading east from the station, so it looks like this is currently the end of line - to the extent that the photo is current.

 

Yeah, I noticed that.  Service was completely suspended August 24, 2013 due to a mudslide.  Miyoshi to Hamahara (one stop south of this one) was reopened September 1, but Hamahara to Gotsu wasn't reopened until July 19, 2014.  This image was taken April 2014.

 

It's a JR West service.  Stays in JR West territory.  When you're running a luxury cruise train where people are not going anywhere in the traditional sense, you want to keep all the revenue to yourself, not split with another company (in this case, JR Kyushu).

 

Maybe they think people won't like the view inside the Kanmon Tunnel :).

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...