Kounotori (train)

Kounotori
Overview
Service typeLimited express
LocaleTokaido Main Line, Fukuchiyama Line, Sanin Main Line
First service12 March 2011
Current operator(s)JR West
Route
TerminiShin-Ōsaka
Kinosaki Onsen
Technical
Rolling stock287 series/289 series EMUs
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead

The Kounotori (こうのとり, Kōnotori) is a limited express train service operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Shin-Ōsaka and Kinosaki Onsen in Japan since 12 March 2011. It replaced the previous Kitakinki services.[1]

The name means "stork", and was chosen because the stork is the prefectural bird of Hyōgo, and the city of Toyooka in particular has close involvement with stork breeding programmes.[1]

  1. ^ a b "JR西日本 287系デビュー時に特急「北近畿」を「こうのとり」に改呼" [JR West to rename "Kitakinki" as "Kounotori" with debut of 287 series]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 39, no. 320. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. December 2010. p. 73.