Abolished after just one year!? The unusual express train "Akita Relay" [Iwate Prefecture and Akita Prefecture]

Currently, the Akita Shinkansen "Komachi" operates between Tokyo Station and Akita Station.
The Akita Shinkansen opened in March 1997, so before its opening, another limited express train provided access to Akita. This was the
conventional line limited express "Tazawa" that connected Morioka Station and Akita Station (some trains went to Aomori Station via Akita Station).
However, there was a limited express train that operated for just one year before the access train to Akita was handed over from "Tazawa" to "Komachi".
Akita Relay that we will introduce here .

What is the Akita Shinkansen?

The currently operating " Akita Shinkansen " or " Komachi " is a JR East train that mainly connects Tokyo Station and Akita Station.
From Tokyo Station to Morioka Station, the "Komachi" runs on the Tohoku Shinkansen tracks at a maximum speed of 320 km/h.
From Morioka Station, it then runs onto the conventional Tazawako Line to Omagari Station.
At Omagari Station, it changes direction and runs on the Ou Main Line to Akita Station.

The Tazawako Line and Ou Main Line (*) on which the Komachi runs have had the gap between the two rails widened from the original 1,067 mm to 1,435 mm to match the width of the Shinkansen wheels, but other than that, they are conventional lines that have not undergone any major changes.
As a result, even though they are called the Akita Shinkansen, they cannot operate at high speeds, with a maximum speed limited to 130 km/h.
The Akita Shinkansen is a general term (or a colloquial term referring only to the latter) for the Tohoku Shinkansen between Tokyo Station and Morioka Station, and the Tazawako Line and Ou Main Line between Morioka Station and Akita Station, and is also the name for the Shinkansen train that runs directly between Tokyo Station and Akita Station (currently only the Komachi).

*The Ou Main Line between Omagari Station and Akita Station was a double track with two tracks, so one of the tracks was widened

Construction work to widen the rail gap between the Tazawako Line and the Ou Main Line was completed, and the Komachi began operating in March 1997.
But what kind of trains ran on the Tazawako Line and Ou Main Line (between Morioka Station and Akita Station) before the construction work was carried out?

The limited express "Tazawa" runs between Morioka Station and Akita and Aomori stations

Until March 1996, a limited express train called " Tazawa " ran between Morioka Station and Akita Station (some trains ran between Morioka Station, Akita Station, and Aomori Station).
Since it departed and arrived at Morioka Station, which also serves the Tohoku Shinkansen, many people traveling to Akita likely transferred between the Tohoku Shinkansen and the "Tazawa"
(the Akita Shinkansen "Komachi" was created primarily to eliminate the need to transfer between the Tohoku Shinkansen and the "Tazawa").
The train was the 485 series electric train, which was the representative limited express train of the time and had been in service since the days of Japan National Railways, the predecessor of JR.

In the spring of 1996, construction work began to widen the rail spacing on the Tazawako Line in order to accommodate the Akita Shinkansen.
Naturally, once the rail spacing was widened, the existing 485 series trains would no longer be able to operate.
As a result, the "Tazawa" was limited to running only between Akita Station and Aomori Station.
Although the train no longer passed near Lake Tazawa, from which the name "Tazawa" originated, the name of the train remained the same.

This meant that there were no express trains that could access Akita Station from Tohoku Shinkansen stations
(note that the Tohoku Shinkansen section between Morioka Station and Shin-Aomori Station had not yet opened at the time).
Therefore, the Akita Relay express train was established to replace the Tazawa as an access train from Tohoku Shinkansen stations to Akita Station.

The Akita Relay express train runs between Kitakami Station and Akita Station via the Kitakami Line

On March 30, 1996, all trains on the Tazawako Line were suspended for a year due to construction work, so a new express train, the Akita Relay , was introduced to take on the role of the previous Tazawa.
This train started and ended at Kitakami Station in Iwate Prefecture, where Tohoku Shinkansen trains also stop.
From Kitakami Station, it traveled via the Kitakami Line to Yokote Station in Akita Prefecture, and from Yokote Station it traveled north on the Ou Main Line to arrive at Akita Station.

The Kitakami Line (between Kitakami Station and Yokote Station) is a non-electrified line without facilities to supply electricity to the rolling stock, so the 485 series electric trains could not be used, and instead new diesel railcars, the Kiha 110 series 300 series, which run on diesel fuel, were introduced.
JR East's daily limited express trains (scheduled limited express trains) have never used diesel railcars since the company was founded in 1987.
This was the first time that diesel railcars have been used on a scheduled limited express train, and as of 2024, it remains the only case of this type of train .

The shortest trains consisted of three cars, but the longer ones had seven cars, and even then they would sometimes get crowded

The Kitakami Line's track configuration makes it easy to run at high speeds on a local line, the Kiha 110 series diesel railcars have excellent running performance, and the train only stops at a few stations, making the Akita Relay a fairly fast train for a limited express train on a conventional line. It
covered the 140km from Kitakami Station to Akita Station in about two hours, giving it a scheduled speed (average speed including stops) of about 70km per hour.

Discontinued with the opening of the Akita Shinkansen

Construction work for the opening of the Akita Shinkansen progressed smoothly, and the Akita Shinkansen opened on March 22, 1997. With this, the Akita Relay completed its role and was discontinued.
Although it only operated for one year, its discontinuation was as planned from the beginning.
At the same time, the Tazawa, which ran between Akita Station and Aomori Station, was renamed Kamoshika. The
limited express trains running on the same section were further renamed, and are now called Tsugaru and Super Tsugaru.

The Kiha 110 Series 300s used for the "Akita Relay" were converted from limited express to local train specifications and incorporated into the Kiha 110 Series 200s, and are still in service today.
Originally, they were only expected to be used as limited express trains for one year, so the specifications were based on the assumption that they would be converted for other uses.
Some of the cars have also been converted into the "Oikot" tourist train, which runs in Niigata and Nagano prefectures.

The Akita Relay was a rather unusual train in that it only ran for one year, was JR East's only scheduled diesel express train, and was a rare express train that ran on the Kitakami Line after the founding of JR. While it's not
well known due to its one-year run, it to enjoy a certain level of popularity among those who know of its existence , and the Kiha 110 series 300 has even been produced as an N gauge model train.

GM Communications

New product: JR Kiha 110 Series 300 "Akita Relay"

https://www.gm-store.co.jp/blog/gmstore-staff/archives/48417

Here are details about the contents of the newly announced JR Kiha 110 Series 300 "Akita Relay" set. This train ran for just one year, from March 1996 to March 1997, just before the Akita Shinkansen opened. Greenmax has completed the project..

Please take the time to remember this train, which fulfilled its role well, albeit for a short period of time

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood. His dream is to make railway travel his job.