Aru Ressha

The Aru Ressha trainset in 2015

The Aru Ressha (或る列車) is a luxury excursion train operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan since 2015. It comprises a two-car diesel-powered railcar heavily modified to parody the style, especially in its window treatment, of passenger cars supplied to Japan by the J. G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, United States of America in 1908.

Overview

Details of the train, named the "Sweet Train", were first announced in 2014;[1] it entered service on 8 August 2015.[2][3]

The name derives from the sweets (desserts)[note 1] served on board;[6] meals are designed and created in a Japanese–French style by chef Yoshihiro Narisawa, owner of the eponymous restaurant in Tokyo.[7]

Design

Models of the 12-wheel passenger cars delivered to Japan by the J.G. Brill Company in 1908, elements of which inspired the design of the Aru Ressha cars of 2015
Side of a brightly finished (yellow and black) Japanese "Sweet train"
The windows replicate those of the Brill cars

The train consists of two modified former KiHa 47 series diesel railcars. It invokes the style and ambience of the luxurious, 12-wheel Brill passenger cars purchased by the Kyushu Railway in 1908. The purchase occurred just before the railway company was nationalized under the Railway Nationalization Act and the cars were never put into service.[2][8]

The rebuilding project was overseen by industrial designer Eiji Mitooka, using scale models of the original coaches built by the railway modeller Nobutaro Hara.[3] Car 1 (KiRoShi 47 9176) and Car 2 (KiRoShi 47 3505), formerly numbered KiHa 47 176 and 47 1505, were previously operated by JR Shikoku until withdrawn from service in 2011.[2] Rebuilding work was carried out at JR Kyushu's Kokura General Rolling Stock Centre.[2]

Operations

Between July of one year to March of the following year, the train runs a daily round trip from Sasebo to Nagasaki, mostly on weekends.[9][6] Between April and September, the train runs a daily round trip between Ōita and Hita. It was intended for the development of tourism and the local economy.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ "Dessert" is the word most commonly used for the final, sweet-tasting course of a meal in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. In the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries, dessert is one of several synonyms that include "pudding", "sweet" and "afters".[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ ＪＲ九州:「スイーツ列車」久大線と大村線に [JR Kyushu to run "Sweets Train" on Kyudai and Omura Lines]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d 「或る列車」としてデビュー！　キロシ47形 [KiRoShi 47 series debuts as "Aru Ressha"]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 55, no. 654. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. October 2015. pp. 66–68.
  3. ^ a b c "Luxury 'dream train' designed over 100 years ago goes into service in Kyushu". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Eating and Drinking". The Septic's Companion. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Pudding vs. dessert: the same but different". The Spruce Eats. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Luxury train begins second phase of service in Nagasaki". The Japan Times Online. Kyodo News Agency. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Aru Ressha Sweets". Aru Ressha Overview. JR Kyushu.
  8. ^ "Aru Ressha Concept". Aru Ressha Official Website. JR Kyushu.
  9. ^ "Aru Ressha 運行情報" [Aru Ressha Operation Information] (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 March 2017.
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