Ginga (train)

Ginga

Ginga train headed by an EF65 locomotive, August 2008
Overview
Service type	Express
Locale	Japan
First service	1949
Last service	2008
Former operator(s)	JNR, JR West
Route
Start	Tokyo
End	Osaka
On-board services
Seating arrangements	None
Sleeping arrangements	Compartments
Catering facilities	None
Technical
	24 series coaches
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Ginga (銀河) was an overnight express sleeper train operating on the Tōkaidō Main Line between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. It was initially operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and, after its privatization in 1987, by West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

The Ginga followed a similar route to the much faster Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line, and filled the overnight gap in the Shinkansen's timetable. While the last Osaka-Tokyo Shinkansen trains departed at 21:20 (in either direction, as of 2008), Ginga departed Osaka at 22:30 and Tokyo at 23:00, and arrives over an hour before the first Shinkansen arrival the next morning. This made it somewhat popular among business travelers who needed a later departure or earlier arrival than the Shinkansen could provide.

However, the numerous overnight buses on the Tokyo-Osaka route largely captured the budget traveler market, while late evening and early morning flights to Kansai Airport (which opened in 1994 and does not have the noise restrictions facing Osaka Airport) were now used by many business travelers who would otherwise have used Ginga. As a result, Ginga's ridership fell dramatically and finally the train was discontinued upon the 15 March 2008 timetable revision.

Ginga trains in 2008 consisted of an EF65-1000 electric locomotive, one "A-class" (first class) sleeper car, and seven "B-class" (second-class) sleeper cars. 24 series sleeping cars were used on this train.

The westbound Ginga (train No. 101) stopped at Tokyo, Shinagawa, Yokohama, Ōfuna, Odawara, Atami, Shizuoka, Gifu, Maibara, Ōtsu, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka and Osaka.