The history of the express "Oga" that connected Ueno and Akita and enjoyed strong demand [Akita Prefecture]

When traveling by train from Ueno Station in Tokyo to Akita Station in Akita Prefecture, most people willKomachilikely take
In the days before the Shinkansen, people might have used conventional express trains, but express trains until around the 1970s were truly special trains, unlike today's, and not trains that everyone could easily use.
One of the access trains to Akita in the days when express train use was not common was the express train "Oga," which I will introduce here.

The birth of the express train "Oga"

The express train "Oga" was first introduced in October 1961. It was an
upgraded version of an overnight local train that connected Ueno Station and Akita Station via the Tohoku Main Line and Ou Main Line (with stops at stations such as Omiya, Utsunomiya, Fukushima, and Yamagata along the way).
connected Ueno Station and Aomori Station via the Tohoku Main Line and Ou Main Line,Tsugaru," which.to complement"Tsugaruand to alleviate congestion on the

In October 1963,Ogathe name was changed from "Oga" (男鹿) to
At the same time, one round trip of the overnight local train was upgraded to the overnight express train "Oga," bringing the total number of "Oga" trains to two round trips per day.

However, just two years later, in October 1965, the operating section of the "Oga" service was extended from Ueno Station to Aomori Station, and it was incorporated into the "Tsugaru" service.
The "Oga" service returned to operating one round trip per day.

The Ou Main Line, which was the route taken by the "Oga" train, has several stations with unusual names or names that are difficult to pronounce.
For more details, please see this article.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Why are there so many unusual names? Station names on the Ou Main Line [Fukushima, Yamagata, Akita]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/31566

The Ou Main Line is a JR East line that runs from Fukushima Station to Aomori Station, passing through stations such as Yamagata Station and Akita Station. It is one of the main lines that runs north-south through the Tohoku region, and in the past, limited express trains operated all along the line. Even today, some sections of the line are used by trains such as the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa," the Akita Shinkansen "Komachi," and the limited express "Tsugaru." For some reason, the Ou Main Line is notable for its many stations with unusual names, so we'll introduce some of them here. The Ou Main Line, a major trunk line in the Tohoku region, runs from Fukushima Station in Fukushima Prefecture, passing through Yamagata Station in Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Station in Akita Prefecture, before reaching Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture.

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Oga's heyday

The famous October 1968 timetable revision (the "Yon-San-To" revision) brought about a major change in the operation of the "Oga" train.
Two round trips were added, bringing the total to three round trips per day.

Up until then, all "Oga" trains were overnight trains pulled by a locomotive, consisting of sleeping cars, passenger cars, and baggage cars. However, one of the newly added round trips was aondaytime train using a self-propelled diesel railcar. Even though they were express trains operating
the same route, it's difficult for generations unfamiliar with that era to understand why they would give the same name to an overnight train and a daytime train, which have completely different rolling stock and meet the needs of their passengers.

In addition, another additional round trip was an overnight train, and its operating area was extended to Odate Station on the Ou Main Line in northern Akita Prefecture

The overnight train, which had been running since before the timetable revision, also extended its service for a limited time, reaching Oga Station on the Oga Line that runs along the Oga Peninsula. This
meant that the train had finally set foot on the Oga Peninsula, from which the train's name originates.

The timetable for the Oga in October 1968, when the service was at its peak, is shown below (departure times for major stations only)

In addition to the "Oga" having three round trips, the overnight express "Tsugaru," which ran between Ueno Station and Aomori Station, could also be used to access Akita, as well as the daytime limited express "Tsubasa," which ran on the same route as the "Oga."
There was also the express "Chokai," which connected Ueno Station and Akita Station via the Sea of ​​Japan coast (this train also had both daytime and overnight services), and in October of the following year, 1969, the daytime limited express "Inaho" also began operation on the same route.
Currently, the only train available for accessing Akita from the Tokyo metropolitan area is the Akita Shinkansen "Komachi," but back then there were many different options.

Oga continues to be at the mercy of other trains

In 1970, the "Akebono" sleeper express train, which ran between Ueno Station and Akita Station via the same Ou Main Line as the "Oga," was introduced as a temporary train, and soon after became a regular service running between Ueno Station and Aomori Station.
The regular overnight "Oga" service was discontinued as it was upgraded to the "Akebono," and the system was revised to one round trip of a regular daytime train and one round trip of a seasonal overnight train.
Also, according to timetables from this period, it can be seen that the extension of overnight train services to Oga Station had become commonplace.

We also have an article featuring night trains that connect Ueno Station and Aomori Station, such as the express "Tsugaru" and the sleeper express "Akebono," so please take a look at that as well

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

It was once a song lyric… Night trains from Ueno to Aomori [Aomori Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/32485

Many people are familiar with the opening line of Sayuri Ishikawa's single "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyugeshiki" (Tsugaru Strait Winter Scenery), released in 1977. It's a classic song, capturing the image of travel in its short lyrics. However, the "night train from Ueno to Aomori" mentioned in the song no longer exists, and the Seikan Ferry, which traveled from Aomori to Hakodate, Hokkaido, ceased operation before the Aomori-bound night train. This time, we'll focus on what kind of train this "night train from Ueno to Aomori" actually was. The role played by the Ueno-bound night train: the Akebono sleeper express, which connected Ueno and Aomori...

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In October 1975, the electrification of the Ou Main Line (the installation of facilities to supply power to trains) was completed (*), making it possible to change the rolling stock of the daytime diesel railcar train "Oga" to electric trains. However, it continued to be operated with diesel railcars.
It is thought that there were factors such as a shortage of electric trains that could be used for express trains, but whatever the reason, the operation of diesel railcars running under overhead wires (electric power lines) for the entire section from Ueno Station to Akita Station continued until the daytime "Oga" was discontinued.

*Some sections of the Ou Main Line are currently out of service due to damage caused by heavy rains in July 2024. When the affected sections are restored, the electrification equipment will be removed, and the line will no longer be fully electrified

With the timetable revision in October 1980, the passenger cars of the overnight "Oga" train, which also had sleeping cars attached, were changed to 14-series passenger cars, and the sleeping cars were no longer provided

In 1982, with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joetsu Shinkansen lines, a large-scale reorganization of limited express and express trains running on conventional lines in the Tohoku region took place.
With the timetable revision on November 15th, coinciding with the full opening of the Shinkansen, the daytime "Oga" service was discontinued.
It had only been in operation for a short period of 14 years since its establishment in 1968, and it was consistently operated using diesel railcars until the very end.
At its peak, the "Oga" ran three round trips a day, but now only one round trip of the seasonal overnight train remains.

The remaining seasonal overnight trains had their passenger cars replaced with 20-series cars in July 1983, and sleeping berths were reinstated.
However, with the timetable revision accompanying the extension of the Tohoku Shinkansen to Ueno Station on March 14, 1985, the trains were downgraded to temporary trains, meaning their operating days were drastically reduced.
Nevertheless, they seem to have run quite frequently as temporary trains.

Demand remains strong even after the special train service was introduced

Even after the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) into the various JR companies in 1987, the temporary overnight express train "Oga" continued to operate for a while.
In 1991, due to construction work to allow Yamagata Shinkansen trains to pass through a section of the Ou Main Line, existing trains could no longer use that route, so the route of "Oga" was changed to go via the Tohoku Main Line, Kitakami Line (a line connecting Kitakami Station in Iwate Prefecture and Yokote Station in Akita Prefecture), and Ou Main Line. However, it can be said that there was enough demand to continue the service even with a changed route.
It seems to have been running until around the beginning of 1995, but since then, it has not been operated at all as a temporary train connecting Ueno Station and Akita Station.

For more information on how the Yamagata Shinkansen came to be, please see this article

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Why was the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" mini-shinkansen created? [Yamagata Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/32125

The Yamagata Shinkansen, also known as "Tsubasa," is a direct train that runs between Tokyo Station and Yamagata Station or Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture. In this article, we'll explain why this train was created. What is the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa"? The E3 Series 2000 "Tsubasa" (foreground) and E5 Series "Yamabiko" (background) are coupled together. "Tsubasa" is a JR East Shinkansen/Limited Express train that primarily runs between Tokyo Station and Yamagata Station or Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture without transfers. The journey between Tokyo Station and Yamagata Station takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the journey from Fukushima Station to Yamagata Station takes approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. The journey from Yamagata Station to Shinjo Station takes 45 minutes to 1 hour...

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In 2013, the "Oga" Sleeper Express was operated as a special overnight train for group travel, departing from Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture and heading to Akita Station

In the spring of 2018, the "Oga" train was revived. Although the operation was quite
different from the original "Oga," with a diesel locomotive pulling 12-series passenger cars making one round trip during the daytime from Yuzawa Station on the Ou Main Line to Oga Station on the Oga Line, many railway enthusiasts enjoyed riding and photographing the nostalgic train.

The Oga was a train that continued to run while being heavily influenced by other trains such as the Tsugaru, Akebono, and Tohoku Shinkansen, but even after its regular service ended, it continued to operate as a seasonal and special train, which shows that there was strong demand for it as an access train to Akita

Given that it has been revived several times, it's safe to say that this train has left a lasting impression on railway enthusiasts. It
may be operated again on some occasion in the future.

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career