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thunderbird
Thunderbird is operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and IR Ishikawa Railway between Osaka Station and Kanazawa Station/Wakura Onsen Station via the Tokaido Main Line (JR Kyoto Line), Kosei Line, Hokuriku Main Line, IR Ishikawa Railway Line, and Nanao Line. This is a special express train.
This section describes the history of its predecessor, the limited express train “Raichou,” as well as its surrounding group of special trains and honor trains that connect the Keihanshin and Hokuriku regions.
On October 1, 1964, with the expansion of electrification on the Hokuriku Main Line, it began operating between Osaka Station and Toyama Station as the “Raicho”. Since then, along with the extension of the electrified section, the line has also been added to areas east of Toyama and the Nanao line, and has been operated as a limited express train connecting the Keihanshin and Hokuriku regions.
On April 20, 1995, 681 series trains, also known as “New Raicho”, were introduced to some trains to replace the 485 series trains, and the train name was changed to “Super Thunderbird”, and on March 22, 1997, In the timetable revision, the name was changed to “Thunderbird”. Since then, the 485 series trains have been gradually replaced with the 681 series trains and the improved 683 series trains, and with the timetable revision on March 12, 2011, the regular “Raicho” trains were eliminated [Public Relations 1].
The fastest Thunderbird, which only stops at Shin-Osaka, Kyoto, and Fukui, has a nominal speed of 104 km/h, making it the fastest of all conventional express trains in Japan, and the only train that can exceed 100 km/h.[1] .
With the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Nagano Station and Kanazawa Station on March 14, 2015, the section between Kanazawa Station and Toyama Station/Uozu Station, which overlaps with the Shinkansen, was abolished [2], and the section between Kanazawa Station and Toyama Station was replaced by the Shinkansen “Tsurugi”. , and the area east of Kurobe Unazuki Onsen Station has been replaced by the Shinkansen “Hakutaka.” Regarding the section between Kanazawa Station and Wakura Onsen Station, JR West “indicated a positive policy for the continuation of the limited express service that runs on the Nanao Line” [3], and in the end, it was decided that one round trip would continue to run on the Nanao Line. For the rest, the shuttle train “Noto Kagaribi” runs between Kanazawa Station and Wakura Onsen Station [Public Relations 2]. JR West positions it as an important means of access from the Sanyo/Kyushu Shinkansen to the Hokuriku Shinkansen, as well as from the Minami Kaga/Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture to the Tokyo metropolitan area [Public Relations 3].
Origin of train name
“Thunderbird” nickname display screen
The godfather was Masataka Ide, the president of JR West Japan at the time.[4] According to JR West’s official explanation, “Thunderbird” is a fantastical bird resembling a giant eagle that causes lightning and rain that appears in the mythology of the Sioux tribe, a Native American tribe. It is said that it was named after One theory is that JR West at the time directly translated “thunder” and “tori” into English.[5]
Initially, the train name was “Super Thunderbird”, and “Thunderbird” is the English name for the bird “Thunderbird” (“Thunder” in “Thunderbird” is “Thunder”, and “Bird” is “Bird”). [Note 1] The actual English name for “Thunderbird” is “Grouse” [Note 2] or “Ptarmigan.” When the 681 series began commercial operation as the “Super Thunderbird”, the British science fiction puppet show “Thunderbird” (International Rescue Team) was used as the commercial character, and a pin badge of the mecha in the work was used as a novelty ride. A campaign was also held in which the books were distributed. The content of the commercials was slightly different between the Hokuriku and Kansai areas.
Operation overview
As of 2023, 25 regular trains are operating between Osaka Station and Kanazawa Station. One round trip is extended to Wakura Onsen Station. Additionally, the three round trips only operate on Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays. The travel time between Osaka Station and Kanazawa Station is 2 hours 35 to 40 minutes. The fastest train is No. 37 (2 hours and 31 minutes), which is the fastest train in Japan.
All trains depart from and arrive at Osaka Station via the Kosei Line, but if the Kosei Line is suspended due to strong winds, they will be detoured via Maibara Station. As a general rule, trains stop at Maibara Station, but depending on the circumstances, they may be treated as passengers. Since the beginning of the 2000s, detours have been increasing due to stricter driving regulations due to the strong winds known as Hira Oroshi, but detours are expected to decrease due to the construction of windbreak fences (see Kosei Line #Overview of Line Areas).
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