 The Twilight Express hauled by an EF81 electric locomotive in January 2013 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Limited express |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | Japan |
| First service | July 1989 |
| Last service | March 2016 |
| Successor | Twilight Express Mizukaze |
| Former operator(s) | JR West |
| Route | |
| Termini | Osaka Sapporo |
| Distance travelled | approx. 1,500 km (930 mi) |
| Average journey time | 22-23 hours |
| Technical | |
| Rolling stock | 24 series sleeping cars |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
| Electrification | 1,500 V DC / 20 kV AC |
| Operating speed | 110 km/h (70 mph) |
The Twilight Express (トワイライトエクスプレス, Towairaitoekusupuresu) was a limited express sleeping car train service operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Japan from 1989 until March 2015. It ran between the city of Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido and Osaka in south-western Honshu, a distance of approximately 1,500 km (930 mi), with the journey taking between 22 and 23 hours. From May 2015 until March 2016, the train operated as a luxury cruise train between Osaka and Shimonoseki in western Japan.