Asagiri (train)

Asagiri
Odakyu 20000 series (left) and JR Central 371 series (right) EMUs on Asagiri services, April 2008
Service type	Limited express
Operator	JR Central, Odakyu Electric Railway
Line used	Odakyū Odawara Line, Gotemba Line
Maximum speed	110 km/h (70 mph)
Started	1959 (Semi-express) 1968 (Express) 1991 (Limited express)
Rolling stock	Odakyū 20000 series RSE, 371 series EMUs

The Asagiri (あさぎり^?) is a limited express train service in Japan operated jointly by Odakyu Electric Railway and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), which runs from Odakyu's Tokyo terminus at Shinjuku to Numazu via the Odakyū Odawara Line and JR Central's Gotemba Line.^[1]

Route

Asagiri services stop at the following stations.^[2] Shinjuku - Machida - Hon-Atsugi - Matsuda - (Suruga-Oyama) - Gotemba - Susono - Numazu

• Some trains do not stop at Suruga-Oyama.

Rolling stock

Current

• JR Central 371 series 7-car EMU (since March 1991)
• Odakyū 20000 series RSE 7-car EMUs (since March 1991)

• 

  JR Central 371 series, October 2009

• 

  Odakyu 20000 series RSE, October 2009

Past

• Odakyu KiHa 5000 series and KiHa 5100 series DMUs (July 1959 – June 1968)^[3]
• Odakyu 3000 series SSE EMUs (July 1968 – March 1991)

• 

  Odakyu 3000 series SSE, 1991

History

Kyushu Asagiri

The Asagiri (あさぎり^?) service was first introduced on 1 May 1959 as a JNR semi-express operating between Moji and Amagase in Kyushu.^[4] This was upgraded to "Express" status from 5 March 1966.^[4] It was discontinued from 1 October 1980.^[5]

Gotemba Line Asagiri

A second Asagiri service, initially written in kanji as "朝霧" commenced on 2 July 1959 as a semi-express operating between Shinjuku and Gotemba.^[4] The Asagiri, together with the Nagao (長尾^?), supplemented the Ginrei (銀嶺^?) and Fuyō (芙蓉^?) Shinjuku—Gotemba semi-express services, which commenced on 1 October 1955.^[3] Asagiri services were upgraded to "express" status from 1 July 1968 following electrification and the introduction of Odakyū 3000 series SE EMUs. The four names were also merged into "あさぎり" in hiragana.^[4] It became a "limited express" from 16 March 1991 with the introduction of new JR Central 371 series and Odakyū 20000 series RSE 7-car EMUs.^[5]

Future plans

JR Central's lone 371 series set is scheduled to be withdrawn from Asagiri services in March 2012, from which date services will be operated using Odakyu rolling stock only.^[6]

See also

Media related to Asagiri at Wikimedia Commons

References

1. ^ JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. p. 30. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6. 
2. ^ こだわりの新幹線＆特急列車ガイド [In-depth Shinkansen & Limited Express Guide]. Japan: Ikaros Publishing. August 2000. p. 92-93. ISBN 4-87149-284-2. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Miyake, Toshihiko (June 1991). "“あさぎり”三代記 [Three Generation Story of Asagiri]". Japan Railfan Magazine (Kōyūsha) (No. 362): 58. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Teramoto, Mitsuteru (July 2001). 国鉄・ＪＲ列車名大辞典 [JNR & JR Train Name Encyclopedia]. Tokyo, Japan: Chuoshoin Publishing Co., Ltd.. p. 62-64. ISBN 4-88732-093-0. 
5. ^ ^{a b} 列車名鑑1995 [Train Name Directory 1995]. Japan: Railway Journal. August 1995. p. 48/123. 
6. ^ "「３７１系」来春引退　ＪＲ東海の特急「あさぎり」 [JR Central 371 series Asagiri limited express to be withdrawn next spring]" (in Japanese). @Shizuoka. Japan: The Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting System. 18 October 2011. http://www.at-s.com/news/detail/100069491.html. Retrieved 18 October 2011. 

External links

• JR Central 371 series Asagiri information (Japanese)