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In Japan, vehicles that run on rails are often called trainsrailcars , mainly on local lines in rural areas.
Diesel railcars can run on unelectrified lines that do not have the facilities required for electric trains to run (such as overhead wires), but of course they can also run on electrified lines without any problems. Diesel railcars that run directly between unelectrified and electrified lines can be found all over the country.
Some trains are operated by diesel railcars instead of electric railcars, even though the entire route from start to finish is electrified . What 's more, when the Japanese National Railways, the predecessor of JR, was still in operation, there were many long-distance express and rapid trains that were operated by diesel railcars, even though the entire route was electrified .
This time, we will introduce limited express, express, and semi-express trains that ran on the Tohoku Main Line, but were operated by diesel railcars even though the entire line was electrified. Note that there are many cases where diesel railcars were used for special trains, and it would be difficult to research them all, so we will only introduce regular trains.
Additionally, cases where only some of the trains with multiple destinations and starting stations run under the overhead wires for the entire section are not included (for example, the express "Hakkoda" train departing from Ueno and bound for Aomori, Kuji, and Mori is not included, even though only the Aomori-bound train runs under the overhead wires for the entire section).
We will introduce trains that ran directly from the Tohoku Main Line to other electrified lines (the Joban Line and the Ou Main Line) in a separate article at a later date
A railway line that is electrified with overhead wires so that trains can run on it
The Tohoku Main Line is a line that connected Tokyo Station in Tokyo to Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture, passing through stations such as Omiya (Saitama Prefecture), Utsunomiya, Fukushima, Sendai, and Morioka. IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway and Aoimori Railway , which are separate companies from JR, but since we are talking about the days of the Japanese National Railways, we will also treat the section from Morioka Station to Aomori Station as part of the Tohoku Main Line.
The Tohoku Main Line was electrified from Tokyo Station to Kuroiso Station (Tochigi Prefecture) by May 1959. In July of the same year, the line was electrified from Kuroiso Station to Shirakawa Station (Fukushima Prefecture), extending the electrified section into the Tohoku region. Electrification was completed up to Fukushima Station in March 1960, up to Sendai Station in March 1961, up to Morioka Station in October 1965, and up to Aomori Station in August 1968.
Limited Express "Hibari" (Ueno Station - Sendai Station)
Hibari express train was introduced as part of the JNR timetable revision in October 1961. Its route ran from Ueno Station in Tokyo via the Tohoku Main Line to Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture.
The Tohoku Main Line was electrified south of Sendai Station in March 1961, so it would seem that the Hibari could be operated by electric trains. However, there are several types of electrification, and the Tohoku Main Line changed its electrification method along the way. Specifically, at Kuroiso Station in Tochigi Prefecture, electric trains were to run on a 1,500V DC power source on the south side and a 20,000V AC power source at 50Hz on the north side.
In 1961, electric trains capable of running on both DC and AC electrified sections and also suitable for limited express trains were still under development. the Kiha 82 series a diesel railcar for limited express trains , was used, and this became a limited express train that operated with diesel railcars even though the entire section was electrified
Kiha 82 series diesel railcar
However, the Kiha 81 series, which could be called the prototype for the Kiha 82 series, had frequent problems immediately after its debut the previous year. As a result, the Kiha 82 series manufactured for the Hibari was used as a spare vehicle for other limited express trains and was not used for the Hibari. The Hibari did not actually begin operating until April of the following year, 1962. The journey time from Ueno Station to Sendai Station was just under five hours.
Later, dual-mode electric railcars were successfully developed, and the Hibari was replaced with electric railcars in October 1965, shortening the travel time between Ueno Station and Sendai Station to about four and a half hours. In October 1968, the time was further shortened to under four hours, showing the difference in performance between electric railcars and diesel railcars at the time.
As a limited express train connecting the Tokyo metropolitan area with Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku region, there was strong demand, with as many as 15 round trips per day in the October 1978 timetable. However, with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen between Omiya Station and Morioka Station in 1982, all regular (daily) Hibari service was discontinued with the November timetable revision. Even after its discontinuation, it has been revived several times as a special train.
Express "Kurikoma" (Sendai Station - Morioka Station, Aomori Station) Express "Himekami" (Sendai Station - Morioka Station)
The Kurikoma was newly established as a semi-express train with the timetable revision in June 1960, and it was operated using diesel railcars. It runs between Sendai Station and Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture, and the journey takes about three to three and a half hours.
In October 1965, the electrified section of the Tohoku Main Line was expanded from Sendai Station to Morioka Station, but the Kurikoma continued to be operated by diesel railcars, and became a semi-express train running under overhead wires for the entire section The following year, in 1966, it was upgraded to an express train
Kiha 28 diesel railcar, a type of vehicle used for express trains
In October 1968, the Kurikoma's operating area was extended to Aomori Station. In August of the same year, the Tohoku Main Line was electrified up to Aomori Station, but the Kurikoma continued to operate on diesel railcars . The journey time from Sendai Station to Aomori Station was about six to six and a half hours.
The reason why the Kurikoma continued to operate as a diesel railcar is thought to be because it was coupled to other diesel railcars on the Tohoku Main Line that from the Tohoku Main Line to other lines. The trains coupled to it include the Sakari and Murone expresses that run on the Ofunato Line from Ichinoseki Station, the Hayachine and Rikuchu expresses that run on the Kamaishi Line from Hanamaki Station, and the Natsudomari express that comes from the Hachinohe Line at Shirunai (now Hachinohe) Station. Since all of these trains run directly on non-electrified lines, they cannot be operated as electric railcars (however, as of October 1968, the Kurikoma No. 1, an upbound train, was not coupled to any other trains).
And with very few exceptions, electric trains and diesel railcars are not usually coupled together. As long as the Kurikoma was running coupled with these diesel express trains, it could not be converted into an electric train.
In October 1970, some of the "Kurikoma" trains were shortened to run between Sendai Station and Morioka Station, and the nickname was changed to Himekami However, in March 1972, the "Himekami" service was extended again to Aomori Station, and the name was changed back to "Kurikoma."
At the same time, the Kurikoma was replaced with electric trains, and naturally, all coupled operations with diesel railcars were discontinued. The minimum travel time between Sendai Station and Aomori Station was 4 hours and 45 minutes, a clear difference from the 6 hours it took in the diesel railcar era. Even the Hatsukari limited express train took about 4 hours and 25 minutes for this section, so this is almost as fast as an express train.
The 455 series electric train is the same type as the one used on the express "Kurikoma" train
In 1982, when the Tohoku Shinkansen opened to Morioka Station, the timetable was revised in November
The section between Sendai Station and Morioka Station is downgraded to the rapid "Kurikoma" service
The section between Morioka Station and Aomori Station has been upgraded to the limited express "Hatsukari."
This change was made, and the "Kurikoma" was discontinued as an express train
The remaining rapid train, the Kurikoma, was also discontinued just over two years later with the timetable revision in March 1985. It seems that usage was not particularly poor, but I think that the division of users between Sendai Station and Morioka Station had become established: people who wanted to travel quickly would use the Shinkansen (which only takes about 50 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes), and people who wanted a more reasonable trip even if it took 3 hours would use local trains.
" timetables are reading material ," and I personally agree. It's fun to look at a reprinted timetable and discover that there were trains like this in the past.
In particular, when I looked at the timetable again to write this article, I realized for the first time that the Kurikoma was an express train operated by diesel railcars under overhead wires for the entire route
I don't think a time machine will be invented in my lifetime, but if there was one, riding a train from the days of the Japanese National Railways would definitely be one of the things I would want to do
![28017333_l](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/28017333_l-150x150.jpg.webp "The trajectory of the Joban Line express train "Hitachi", which has been at the mercy of the times but has played a role in connecting the Pacific coast of Tohoku [Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture]")
![1620px-jr_east_innai_station_platform, _akita_preff](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1620px-JR_East_Innai_Station_Platform_Akita_Pref-150x150.jpg.webp ""Train" can no longer run! ? What is "non-electrification" on the Ou Main Line? [Akita/Yamagata]")
