Blue Trains (ブルートレイン, burū torein) in Japan were long-distance sleeper trains, nicknamed as such for the color of the train cars. They consisted of 20-, 12-,583-, 14- or 24-series sleeper cars, and connected major destinations within Japan across long distances. For a time, other routes were served by a fleet of newer limited-express overnight trains, which were not blue.
Services slowly began to be eliminated as the Shinkansen (bullet train) network spread and as regional airports opened in the 1980s and 1990s; afterwards, five Blue Train services were eliminated in 2008 and 2009, six more between 2010 and 2015, and the final services in 2016. Aside from luxury "land cruise" excursion trains such as Seven Stars in Kyushu,[1] this has left just two overnight express trains (the combined Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto) as the only trains in Japan with sleeping accommodation.
History
The first Blue Train was known as the Asakaze. It ran between Hakata and Tokyo beginning in 1956; air-conditioned cars were added two years later. As was the case with sleeper train services in other parts of the world, the Blue Trains acquired a romantic aspect and, at the peak of their popularity in the late 1970s, appeared in many novels. They were sometimes described as "moving hotels".[1]
The final Hayabusa and Fuji service after arriving at Tokyo Station on 14 March 2009
However, as buses, airplanes, and the Shinkansen became faster, more popular, and sometimes cheaper, the Blue Trains saw a severe decline in ridership and therefore revenues. 2005 ridership on sleeper trains traveling west from Tokyo was calculated as one fifth of that in 1987. For this and other reasons, such as aging equipment and a shortage of overnight staff, JR made plans to eliminate the majority of the overnight services.[2]
The Asakaze service connecting Hakata and Tokyo was eliminated in 2005, its average occupancy below 30 percent. The Hayabusa and Fuji were eliminated in March 2009. The daily Hokuriku train from Tokyo to Kanazawa was discontinued on 13 March 2010 along with its former Blue Train counterpart, the Noto.
Services like the Cassiopeia (a Blue Train in all but color) retained some popularity among tourists until the completion of the Shinkansen line to Hokkaido.
^Furuya, Masanobu. "JR putting Blue Trains to bed as passengers find faster ways to travel". Asahi Shimbun - English Edition. 11 December 2007. Accessed 12 December 2007.
^ abSaito, Masatoshi (7 November 2013). ブルートレイン:廃止へ…ＪＲ３社、北海道新幹線開業で [Blue Trains to be scrapped by 3 JR companies - with opening of Hokkaido Shinkansen]. Mainichi.jp (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
^寝台特急〈北斗星〉ラストラン [Last run of Hokutosei sleeping car limited express]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co. Ltd. 24 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
