Dinostar

*Dinostar*
	A 683 series trainset on a Dinostar service, December 2020
Overview
Service type	Limited express
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Japan
First service	14 March 2015
Last service	15 March 2024
Successor	Hokuriku Shinkansen
Current operator(s)	JR West
Route
Termini	Fukui; Kanazawa
Service frequency	3 return services daily
Line(s) used	Hokuriku Main Line
On-board services
Class(es)	Ordinary + Green
Technical
Rolling stock	681 series, 683 series
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Dinostar (ダイナスター, Dainasutā) was a limited express train service operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Fukui and Kanazawa in Japan via the Hokuriku Main Line from 14 March 2015 until 15 March 2024.

Service outline

Three return services operated daily between Fukui and Kanazawa, supplementing the existing Thunderbird services truncated with the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Nagano to Kanazawa on 14 March 2015.^[2]

The name was a portmanteau derived from the English words "dinosaur" for which Fukui is famous and "star".^[2]

Rolling stock

The services used the 681 series and 683 series EMUs used on Thunderbird services.^[3]

Formations

Trains were normally formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Kanazawa (eastern) end. All cars were no-smoking.^[4]

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6
Accommodation	Green	Reserved	Reserved	Reserved	Non-reserved	Non-reserved

From the start of the revised timetable introduced on 26 March 2016, some services (Dinostar 1 and 6) operated as three-car formations with no Green car.^[5]

History

The name of the new train services was officially announced by JR West's Kanazawa Division on 7 October 2014.^[3]

From the start of the revised timetable that took place on 16 March 2024, all Dinostar services were discontinued with the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Tsuruga.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "JR西日本、北陸本線「ダイナスター」など朝・夜の特急列車が廃止に" [JR West will abolish morning and evening limited express trains such as "Dynastar" on the Hokuriku Main Line]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). 3 September 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b 北陸新幹線開業で金沢駅発着の特急「ダイナスター」「能登かがり火」誕生! [New "Dinostar" and "Noto Kagaribi" limited expresses from Kanazawa with opening of Hokuriku Shinkansen]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
^ ^a ^b 北陸の新特急「能登かがり火」「ダイナスター」　ＪＲ西 [New "Dinostar" and "Noto Kagaribi" Hokuriku limited expresses]. Asahi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Japan: The Asahi Shimbun Company. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
^ JR Timetable. Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. February 2015. EAN 4910053110259.
^ 改正ニュース [Revision news]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 45, no. 382. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. February 2016. p. 96.

External links

JR West press release (October 2014) (in Japanese)
Service outline (in Japanese)

[JRWD-1] "JR西日本、北陸本線「ダイナスター」など朝・夜の特急列車が廃止に" [JR West will abolish morning and evening limited express trains such as "Dynastar" on the Hokuriku Main Line]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). 3 September 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

[mynavi20141007-2] 北陸新幹線開業で金沢駅発着の特急「ダイナスター」「能登かがり火」誕生! [New "Dinostar" and "Noto Kagaribi" limited expresses from Kanazawa with opening of Hokuriku Shinkansen]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.

[asahi20141008-3] 北陸の新特急「能登かがり火」「ダイナスター」　ＪＲ西 [New "Dinostar" and "Noto Kagaribi" Hokuriku limited expresses]. Asahi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Japan: The Asahi Shimbun Company. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.

[tt201502-4] JR Timetable. Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. February 2015. EAN 4910053110259.

[dj382-5] 改正ニュース [Revision news]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 45, no. 382. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. February 2016. p. 96.

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