Toki (train)

The Toki (とき) is a high-speed Shinkansen train service operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Joetsu Shinkansen in Japan.[1]

Toki

An E4 series on a Max Toki service in April 2014
Overview
Service type	Shinkansen
Status	Operational
Locale	Honshu, Japan
First service	10 June 1962 (Limited express) 15 November 1982 (Shinkansen)
Current operator(s)	JR East
Former operator(s)	JNR
Route
Start	Tokyo
End	Niigata
Line(s) used	Joetsu Shinkansen
On-board services
Class(es)	Standard + Green
Catering facilities	Trolley service
Technical
Rolling stock	E2 series, E4 series, E7 series
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC (50 Hz), overhead
Operating speed	240 km/h (150 mph)

The name is taken from the Japanese name of the crested ibis, for which Niigata is famous.

Station Stops

• Tokyo
• Ueno*
• Ōmiya
• Kumagaya*
• Honjo-Waseda*
• Takasaki*
• Jomo-Kogen*
• Echigo-Yuzawa*
• Urasa*
• Nagaoka*
• Tsubame-Sanjo*
• Niigata

(*) Not served by all trains

Rolling stock

• E2 series 10-car sets (from 26 January 2013)[2]
• E4 series 8-car sets (Max Toki)
• E7 series 12-car sets (Toki)

• 
  An E2 series set
• 
  An E4 series set on a Max Toki service in January 2006

Former rolling stock

• E1 series 12-car sets (Max Toki) (until 28 September 2012)
• 200 series 10-car "K" sets (until 15 March 2013)

• 
  A refurbished E1 series set
• 
  A refurbished 200 series set

History

Limited express

A 181 series EMU on a Toki service in 1982

The name Toki was first introduced on 10 June 1962 for limited express services operating between Ueno in Tokyo and Niigata on the Joetsu Line. This service operated until 14 November 1982, the day before the Joetsu Shinkansen opened.[3]

Shinkansen

From the start of services on the newly opened Jōetsu Shinkansen on 15 November 1982, Toki became the name used for the all-stations shinkansen services operating initially between Ōmiya and Niigata, later between Ueno and Niigata, and eventually between Tokyo and Niigata.[3]

The Toki name was discontinued from October 1997 following the introduction of new Tanigawa all-stations services between Tokyo and Echigo-Yuzawa. However, the name was reinstated from December 2002 to replace the name Asahi used for all Tokyo to Niigata trains.[1]

E2 series 10-car sets were re-introduced on four return Toki services daily from 26 January 2013, operating at a maximum speed of 240 km/h.[2][4]

Special train services

A special Joetsu Shinkansen 30th Anniversary (上越新幹線開業30周年号」, Jōetsu Shinkansen Kaigyō 30-shūnen-gō) service ran as Toki 395 from Omiya to Niigata on 17 November 2012 using 10-car 200 series set K47.[5]

See also

• List of named passenger trains of Japan

References

1. JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. 2008. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
2. 上越新幹線でE2系の定期運用再開 [E2 series returns to regular duties on Joetsu Shinkansen]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 27 January 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
3. 列車名鑑1995 [Train Name Directory 1995]. Japan: Railway Journal. August 1995.
4. Ｅ２系車両を上越新幹線に投入！ [E2 series trains to be introduced on Joetsu Shinkansen] (PDF). News Release (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
5. "とき"395号「上越新幹線開業30周年記念号」運転 [Toki 395 "Joetsu Shinkansen 30th Anniversary"]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.

External links

• 200 series Yamabiko/Toki/Nasuno/Tanigawa (in Japanese)
• E1 series Max Toki/Max Tanigawa at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 July 2011) (in Japanese)
• E4 series Max Toki/Max Tanigawa (in Japanese)