International Railroad Discussion > Sayonara to Sleeper Train Hokutosei

It was announced several days ago that the last run of the Sleeper Limited Express Hokutosei will occur on August 22, 2015. The last train will depart Sapporo that day and arrive in Ueno (Tokyo) the next morning. Short moments after that announcement was made, the train was sold out.

This isn't the "cancellation" of regular service which converted the train into a seasonal/temporary schedule last March. This is the final run, and this is the last "Blue Train" in existence - end of an era.

I haven't found the official announcement in English, but this information has been posted by various media outlets in Japanese already. Needless to say, railfans will be out documenting the remaining runs, so I suspect the popular spots to catch this train will be more crowded than usual.

I anticipated this announcement, so I caught the train twice on my last day in Japan in May, figuring I might not get another chance. I went to the triple double track main at Higashi-jujo, which in hindsight was a mistake since my shots could have been blocked by other trains. My shots DID get blocked, but I got lucky and got some viewable video clips anyway.

First clip is in the morning, Hokutosei heading south to Ueno. The lead locomotive, EF510 is in a Cassiopeia paint scheme, so I suspect the Hokutosei scheme one was being serviced. I get blocked by two trains.

I goofed off around Tokyo for the rest of the day, and returned to Higashi-jujo in the afternoon to catch the northbound trip to Sapporo, second clip. People standing to the south of me (to my right) got their shots blocked, but I got myself a meet where I was standing. The same EF510 is leading the train north.

- My first attempt at shooting the Hokutosei more than 13 years ago at Morioka. I believe the locomotive is an EF81. I boarded this train to attend the Sapporo Snow Festival. February 5, 2002.

- DD51 hydraulic diesel locomotives at Hakodate, February 6, 2002. Note the Hokutosei drumhead.

- Video clips as described above.

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- Hokutosei's last car, at Sapporo, February 6, 2002.
- B sleeper bunk beds, typical of Blue Trains.
- Looking down the aisle of Hokutosei.

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What is the reason for the discontinuance of this train?

Is this the last sleeper train in Japan?  If now what others are left?  Why are they getting rid of this one?  And thanks for posting the pics.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/15 14:39 by jfrank39.

jfrank39 Wrote:
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> Is this the last sleeper train in Japan?  If now
> what others are left?  Why are they getting rid
> of this one?  And thanks for posting the pics.

Sleeper Limited Express Sunrise Seto and Izumo still run, operated by JR Central and JR West. Unlike the "Blue Trains" which are pulled by a locomotive, this train uses an EMU set, Series 285. Patronage is still good (and reservation can be hard to get) even though the Sunrise Seto & Izumo run along the same corridor covered by the busiest of Japan's HSR, the Tokaido Shinkansen. The Series 285 EMU sets were renovated last year, so JR Central and JR West plan to continue this service in the foreseeable future. Starting next year, this service will likely by the last regularly scheduled sleeper service in the JR network.

Sleeper Twilight Express was discontinued in March of this year, and Cassiopeia is in danger of being discontinued, unless JR East and JR Hokkaido come up with a locomotive solution to take the train through the Seikan Tunnel with the new Shinkansen-friendly voltage of 25k volts. There are no plans to convert JR Freight's new dual voltage EH800 locomotive to passenger service, so as it stands, the future is bleak for the Cassiopeia.

There are several reasons why the Hokutosei is being discontinued:

- Age of equipment, more than 3 decades old.
- Start of Hokkaido Shinkansen service in March 2016, and the locomotive problem mentioned above.
- Existence of travel alternatives, including the Tohoku Shinkansen, highway buses, and cheap business hotels.
- JR Group's new emphasis on Sleeper Trains as a super luxury niche, instead of mainstream mode of travel.

The popularity of the Cassiopeia and JR Kyushu's Seven Stars have convinced the JR Group that the market is demanding an upgrade to the age-old Blue Train sleeper concept. JR East has plans to start their own Seven Stars, the Train Suite "Shikishima (translated Island of Four Seasons)" in 2017. JR West plans to use the Twilight Express train set for their own super luxury train, Twilight Express Mizukaze in 2017.

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> What is the reason for the discontinuance of this
> train?

Besides the reasons mentioned above, one might expect "declining ridership" to be a primary reason for the discontinuance. I don't think that was a major factor:

When Hokutosei started service in 1988, there were 2-3 roundtrips per day, or two scheduled sections per day in each direction plus an extra as needed. When I rode it for the first time in 2002, I took the second section north from Morioka to Sapporo for a late morning arrival.

FYI, Cassiopeia started service in 1999.

The Hokkaido Shinkansen construction started inside the Seikan Tunnel in 2008. The necessary work windows forced the reduction of trains through the tunnel, and I believe the second section of the Hokutosei was discontinued for that purpose. That was 6 years after the Tohoku Shinkansen extension from Morioka to Hachinohe in 2002, and even in 2006, two sections per day per direction were regularly scheduled, according to the JR timetable I have in front of me.

The extension of Tohoku Shinkansen to Shin-Aomori (northern tip of Honshu) did not occur until 2010. We'll never know if that might have reduced Hokutosei's ridership, since that's 2 years after the second section was discontinued. I believe passengers were forced to look for alternatives after 2008.

For comparison, travel from Tokyo (Ueno) to Sapporo by Hokutosei or Cassiopeia takes ~17 hours. Tohoku Shinkansen + timed transfers to two limited express trains takes ~10-11 hours. Flying takes 3.5 hours including the use of trains to/from the airports. When the extension of Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo is completed (around 2031), the travel time from Tokyo to Sapporo is estimated to be just over 5 hours.

Photos I haven't posted from my Hokutosei ride in March of 2014:

- A child wakes up to Hokkaido snow.
- Nice table lamp and breakfast menu in the dining car.
- Peek at a sleeper compartment. I still used the less luxurious bunk bed for the trip.

I've posted some Hokutosei tidbits from last year's Cassiopeia report:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3356144

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Just a bit off topic, but here's a couple of train-related samples from the 2002 Sapporo Snow Festival.

I'm also posting a re-edited video of the southbound (inbound) Hokutosei I caught in March of 2014. I didn't have all my video editing tools while in Japan, so I couldn't remove the interlacing artifacts in the video I posted before. This one has the proper Hokutosei paint scheme EF510 locomotive pulling the train.

That's it for now.

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Are the dining cars in these train sets new build, or were they recycled from long distance emu sets -- a 481, say -- that were broken up for shorter distance runs ?   They certainly have a family appearance.

With best regards, SZ

Steinzeit Wrote:
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> Are the dining cars in these train sets new build,
> or were they recycled from long distance emu sets
> -- a 481, say -- that were broken up for shorter
> distance runs ?   They certainly have a family
> appearance.
>
> With best regards, SZ

Your eyes don't lie. The dining car (called "Grand Chariot") is indeed based on the 481/485/489 Series, and according to my research, it was modified from a 481 series set. Limited Express trains utilizing the long "bonnet" nose 481 Series were brand new in the Steinzeit Era. Hope you got some photos of those!

Thank you for that research -- and yes, I'll have to find those photos.

Best regards, SZ