JR West Series 117 WEST EXPRESS Ginga

[katoftw]

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/pdf/press_20190319.pdf

 

New train using repurposed 117 series.

 

Interesting suite and compartments.  Almost like old blue train 4 berth rooms.

 

https://www.ichibansen.com/westexpressginga

Edited March 25, 2019 by katoftw

[Yavianice]

In my opinion this livery could have been soo much cooler if it had more stars on it like the SL Ginga.

[miyakoji]

Nice color, I'm glad to see a 117 used for this purpose.

[Sheffie]

Very nice looking train. I would buy that if I had room for six cars on my layout.

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

Perhaps this livery could have had a bit of contrast to the overall blue.

Stars, representing the galaxy, as someone previously suggested.

A fancy looking interior, a bit hard to work out what is actually intended, descriptions of the interiors would be welcome.

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

Now, some assumptions on the running of this train.

I'll assume that it follows the route of the Sunrise Izumo from Osaka to Izumoshi. 

This is going along the Sanyo M.L. to Okayama, then up the Hakubi Line through Nimi to Yonago, then along the Sanin M.L. through Matsue to Izumoshi

This is a distance of just under 400  km.

How long could this take?

A fair bit of single track through the mountains, could the train maintain an average speed of 80km/hr, if so the trip would take five hours.

This does suggest that the journey there and back couldn't be done easily in one day, allowing some time to look at the Taisho Shrine, etc.at Izumoshi.

So, one day there, o/night at Izumoshi, one day back.

It's a 'cruise train' not an overnight sleeper, even though it has tatami bunks, it's there for scenery.

As I said, this is back of the envelope stuff, and it will be of interest to see the actual timetable when it comes out.

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

[miyakoji]

It will have to go via the Hakubi Line, any other route would include unelectrified sections.

[miyakoji]

Here's some video of the interior and exterior, looks pretty good:

 

 

[cteno4]

Wow, quite a lovely train. Interesting mix of seating, some creativity there. Nice use of clean wood to keep things warm but clean lines to make the tight quarters not seem too small. Love to try it out!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

Postponed debut of West Express Ginga, a new train on JR West. Japanese language article from Traffic News JP.

 

https://trafficnews.jp/post/95300?fbclid=IwAR10ChSYuDfOCX-yuXDjgUxYGdTJxt-n9L1oqIg4PBQM9bclfbPHJ9xr-ZY#readmore

[bill937ca]

Hmm. I searched for a thread for this and don't see one.  This video is a good look at yet another luxury touring train.  Video by tanikou768.