Moonlight Nagara

The Moonlight Nagara (ムーンライトながら) is a seasonal rapid overnight train service operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), which runs from Tokyo to Ōgaki in Gifu Prefecture via the Tokaido Main Line. Since 2009, the service has been offered approximately three weeks per year, corresponding to the spring, summer and year-end holiday seasons.

Moonlight Nagara

A 185 series EMU formation on a Moonlight Nagara service, December 2013
Overview
Service type	Rapid
Status	Seasonal operation
Locale	Japan
First service	16 March 1996
Last service	29 March 2020 (Final operation)
Current operator(s)	JR East, JR Central
Route
Start	Tokyo
Stops	Shinagawa, Yokohama, Odawara, Numazu, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Toyohashi, Nagoya, Gifu
End	Ōgaki
Average journey time	6:40 westbound, 6:16 eastbound
Service frequency	Seasonal
Line(s) used	Tokaido Main Line
On-board services
Catering facilities	None
Technical
Rolling stock	185 series EMU
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC

On January 22, 2021, both East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) announced the suppression of the Moonlight Nagara services with no replacement offered at the time, due to the rise of highway buses and the aging trains operated on the line.[1][2] Since the train service was not operated on the summer and winter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation, this announcement makes March 29, 2020, the last day of operations of the Nagara service. This day also marks the complete disappearance of the "Moonlight"-branded services from Japan.

Rolling stock

Since December 2013, Moonlight Nagara services are formed of 185 series electric multiple unit (EMU) 10-car (4+6-car) formations based at Omiya Depot.[3]

Moonlight Nagara 185 Series Formation (4+6 cars)

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Accommodation	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved

• No smoking for all cars
• Passengers are unable to go between cars 4 and 5.
• Reserved = "Seat Reservation Ticket" (座席指定券) required to board the train

Past rolling stock

• 165 series EMUs
• 373 series EMU 9-car formations
• 183/189 series EMUs

From the introduction of the Moonlight Nagara service, trains were normally formed of three three-car 373 series EMUs owned by JR Central and based at Shizuoka Depot.[4] Additional Moonlight Nagara 91 and 92 trains also operated during busy seasons, and these were formed of ten-car 183 series EMU sets owned by JR East and based at Tamachi Depot.[4]

• 
  165 series, December 2000
• 
  373 series, September 2007
• 
  183/189 series, January 2007

Station list

Station		Distance (km)		Time		Location		Remarks
Name	Japanese	Between stations	From Tokyo	Westbound (-> Ōgaki)[5]	Eastbound (-> Tokyo)[6]	Ward / City	Prefecture / Metropolis
Tokyo	東京	-	0.0	23:10 Departure	5:05 Arrival	Chiyoda	Tokyo
Shinagawa	品川	6.8	6.8	23:17 Arrival 23:18 Departure	4:57 Arrival 4:58 Departure	Minato
Yokohama	横浜	22.0	28.8	23:35 Arrival 23:36 Departure	4:40 Arrival 4:41 Departure	Yokohama	Kanagawa
Odawara	小田原	55.1	83.9	0:30 Arrival 0:31 Departure	↑	Odawara		Westbound: First stop after midnight (12am)
Numazu	沼津	42.3	126.2	1:07 Arrival 1:08 Departure	3:05 Arrival 3:19 Departure	Numazu	Shizuoka
Shizuoka	静岡	54.0	180.2	1:48 Arrival 1:50 Departure	1:52 Arrival 1:55 Departure	Shizuoka
Hamamatsu	浜松	76.9	257.1	2:46 Arrival 3:15 Departure	0:46 Arrival 0:55 Departure	Hamamatsu		Westbound: 29 minutes stop Eastbound: 9 minutes stop
Toyohashi	豊橋	36.5	293.6	↓	0:15 Arrival 0:18 Departure	Toyohashi	Aichi	Eastbound: First stop after midnight (12am)
Nagoya	名古屋	72.4	366.0	5:19 Arrival 5:21 Departure	23:18 Arrival 23:20 Departure	Nagoya
Gifu	岐阜	30.3	396.3	5:40 Arrival 5:41 Departure	22:58 Arrival 22:59 Departure	Gifu	Gifu
Ōgaki	大垣	13.7	410.0	5:50 Arrival	22:48 Departure	Ōgaki

Seishun 18 Ticket

The Moonlight Nagara service is a rather popular service among Seishun 18 Ticket holders. It is because one only has to pay 520 yen to reserve a seat while travelling across the long stretch that is the Tōkaidō overnight, so the service allows them to travel at a cheap price and save time.

The Seishun 18 Ticket is a basic fare ticket (乗車券) that allows holders to have unlimited rides on the local trains for 5 (not necessarily consecutive) days. The price of the ticket is 11,850 yen, which means 2,370 yen per use. A day is defined as the 24-hour period between 12am and 12am on the next day, and within this period of time, the use of the 18 Ticket counts as one day. For the case of the Moonlight Nagara, the journey takes place within two days. If one uses the 18 Ticket to board the Moonlight Nagara for the entirety of the journey, 2 days would be counted for the person's Ticket, which could possibly reduce the value they're getting for their money. Therefore, for some travellers who're beginning their journey in Tokyo / Ōgaki, they would purchase a separate fare ticket covering the distance between the boarding station and the first stop after midnight (i.e. Tokyo→Odawara, 1490 yen or Ōgaki→Toyohashi, 1940 yen), and use the 18 Ticket for the remaining part, so that they can get better value for their money.

Often, the Seishun 18 Ticket is used for long distance travelling, so after getting off the Moonlight Nagara, these Ticket holders would change for other trains heading further towards different locations. At one terminus of the Moonlight Nagara, Ōgaki Station, the interchange window between the Moonlight Nagara (5:50 Arrival) and a Maibara-bound local train (5:53 Departure) is merely 3 minutes, which is so short that interchanging passengers often have to dash up the stairs, across the overpass towards the opposite platform, run down the stairs again, just so they can board the local train as soon as possible, to secure a seat after the exhausting journey on the Moonlight Nagara. This is dubbed as the Ōgaki Dash (大垣ダッシュ). For 18 Ticket holders, interchange windows can be so tight that the Ōgaki Dash is inevitable. Some passengers even specifically picked particular seats, just so they can get off the train at the nearest exit to the stairs. JR Central, in response to the Ōgaki Dash, has put up signs that warn passenger not to run.

• 
  Previously used sign that says "In station area: Speed limit 10 km/h"
• 
  Currently used sign that says "Dangerous! Please do not run!"

History

The Moonlight Nagara service was introduced on 16 March 1996. The name was taken from the Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture, and was formerly used for a semi express service which ran between Tokyo and Ōgaki from 1 June 1960 until 1 October 1965.[7]

Overnight services on the Moonlight Nagara route had existed in various forms since 1899, when through services commenced between Shimbashi in Tokyo and Kobe, extending as far west as Kagoshima in the 1940s. Prior to World War II, as many as seven overnight round-trip services existed on this route. Rail services were cut dramatically in the wake of the war. The line briefly saw three to four daily overnight services in the late 1950s, but electrification of the line, coupled with the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed line in 1964, reduced the need for overnight services.

Initially, cars 4 to 9 were designated as non-reserved seating cars west of Yokohama Station, but from the start of the March 2007 timetable revision, all cars were designated as reserved seating between Tokyo and Toyohashi.[4]

The service's popularity declined in the 2000s due to competition from discounted overnight bus services. From March 14, 2009, the Moonlight Nagara stopped running on a daily basis and became a seasonal train running only during busy periods.[8]

See also

• List of named passenger trains of Japan

References

1. 佐藤, 正樹. "「青春18」族に悲報…「大垣夜行」の歴史にピリオド 『ムーンライトながら』運行終了". レスポンス（Response.jp） (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 January 2021.
2. "春"の臨時列車の運転計画について" (PDF). JR Central. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
3. DJ時刻表 [DJ Timetable]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 43 no. 357. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. January 2014. pp. 100–101.
4. JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. 29 August 2008. p. 138. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
5. "JR East Timetable (Moonlight Nagara Westbound)". JR East.
6. "JR East Timetable (Moonlight Nagara Eastbound)". JR East.
7. 列車名鑑1995 [Train Name Directory 1995]. Japan: Railway Journal. 1 August 1995. p. 128.
8. 東京発ブルトレ終焉「はやぶさ・富士」廃止へ [Hayabusa and Fuji Blue Trains from Tokyo to be abolished]. MSN Japan (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital. 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2014.