Kamome

Kamome (かもめ) is a limited express train operated by JR Kyushu in Japan. It operates between Hakata and Nagasaki on the Kagoshima Main Line and the Nagasaki Main Line. Kamome means seagull in Japanese.

Kamome
885 series Shiroi Kamome
Overview
Service typeLimited express
First service1937
Current operator(s)JR Kyushu
Route
Line(s) usedKagoshima Main Line, Nagasaki Main Line
Technical
Rolling stock787 series, 885 series EMUs
Operating speed130 km/h (80 mph)
Interior of 885 series Kamome

From 2023, the name will be inherited by the new Shinkansen service to Nagasaki, at which point the remaining limited express service between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata will be renamed Relay Kamome.

History

The Kamome name (written as "鷗") was first used from 1 July 1937 on limited express trains operating between Tokyo and Kobe. This service continued until February 1943.[1]

The name (written as "かもめ") was subsequently revived from 15 March 1953 for use on limited express services operating between Kyoto and Hakata. This service was discontinued in March 1975 with the completion of the Sanyō Shinkansen to Hakata.[1]

The service in its current form commenced on 1 July 1976, coinciding with electrification of the Nagasaki Main Line (initially operating between Kokura and Nagasaki, later between Hakata and Nagasaki) using 485 series EMUs.[1]

On 28 October 2020 JR Kyushu announced it would utilize a 6-car version of the N700S series for the isolated section of Shinkansen from Nagasaki, named Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, with a cross platform interchange to a relay service called Relay Kamome at Takeo-Onsen to connect to Hakata.[2][3][4] JR Kyushu also announced it would continue to use the name Kamome for the Nishikyushu Shinkansen service, which has been in use since 1961.[3] The new Kamome super-express service will stop at every station between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki. Between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata, the so-called Relay Kamome will continue as a non-shinkansen train service for the foreseeable future until the line is eventually extended to Hakata in the long run.

Rolling stock

Rolling stock currently used

Rolling stock used in the past
485 series, December 1992

Station stops

Stations in parentheses are not served by all trains.

Special stops

References
  • JR Timetable, December 2008
  • ＪＲ新幹線＆特急列車ファイル (JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File). Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
  1. 列車名鑑１９９5 (Train Name Directory 1995). Japan: Railway Journal. August 1995.
  2. https://www.railwaygazette.com/high-speed/shorter-n700s-to-serve-nagasaki/57681.article
  3. "2022年度秋頃に西九州新幹線が開業します!列車名「かもめ」". Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  4. "JR初の新型特急｢783系｣は型破りな異端児だった ｢ハイパーサルーン｣の愛称でJR九州の主力担う". Retrieved 2021-08-04.
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