Kodama

JR West 8-car500 Series Shinkansen on aKodama service atHimeji Station, August 2009
Overview
Service type	Shinkansen (Local)
Status	Operational
First service	1958 (Limited express) 1 October 1964 (Shinkansen)
Current operators	JR Central,JR West
Route
Termini	Tokyo (Tōkaidō Shinkansen) Shin-Osaka (Tokaido Shinkansen andSan'yō Shinkansen) Hakata orHakataminami (San'yō Shinkansen)
Lines used	Tokaido Shinkansen San'yō Shinkansen
On-board services
Class	Green/standard
Catering facilities	None
Technical
Rolling stock	500/700/N700 series
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC overhead
Operating speed	285 km/h (175 mph)[1]

Kodama (こだま; "Echo") is one of the three train services running on theTōkaidō andSan'yō Shinkansen lines.Stopping at every station, theKodama is the slowest Shinkansen service for trips between major cities such asTokyo andOsaka. The Kodama trains are used primarily for travel to and from smaller cities such asAtami. Travelers between major cities generally take theNozomi orHikari services, which make fewer stops, although theNozomi requires paying a supplement under theJapan Rail Pass while theKodama does not,^[2] making these services an affordable alternative.

Kodama trains generally run over shorter distances thanNozomi andHikari trains. TypicalKodama runs include Tokyo - Nagoya / Shin-Osaka, Tokyo - Mishima / Shizuoka / Hamamatsu, Mishima / Shizuoka / Nagoya - Shin-Osaka, and Shin-Osaka / Okayama / Hiroshima - Hakata as well as some shorter late-night runs.

The trainsets used forKodama service are the same700 series, andN700 series trains used for theHikari andNozomi services. Older100 series and300 series trains were also used forKodama services on the Sanyō Shinkansen until they were withdrawn in 2012. In December 2008, reconfigured500 series trains enteredKodama service to replace the withdrawn Sanyō Shinkansen0 series trains. Many Sanyō ShinkansenKodama services continue to and fromHakataminami on theHakataminami Line.

MostKodama trains have both reserved and non-reserved cars; however, some morningKodama trains to Tokyo and evening trains departing Tokyo have non-reserved cars only to accommodate commuters living inKanagawa andShizuoka.

The newest shinkansen trainset, theN700, is currently used on some early morning and late nightKodama runs betweenKokura andHakata stations inKyushu. All standard-class cars are non-reserved, and, as with all other N700 services, there is no smoking on these trains except in designated on-board smoking rooms.

At most intermediate stations,Kodama trains wait for faster trains, including theNozomi,Hikari,Sakura, andMizuho, to pass through before resuming their journeys.

Kodama trains stop at all stations between Tokyo and Hakata. In order from east to west, this comprisesTōkyō,Shinagawa,Shin-Yokohama,Odawara,Atami,Mishima,Shin-Fuji,Shizuoka,Kakegawa,Hamamatsu,Toyohashi,Mikawa-Anjō,Nagoya,Gifu-Hashima,Maibara,Kyoto,Shin-Ōsaka,Shin-Kōbe,Nishi-Akashi,Himeji,Aioi,Okayama,Shin-Kurashiki,Fukuyama,Shin-Onomichi,Mihara,Higashi-Hiroshima,Hiroshima,Shin-Iwakuni,Tokuyama,Shin-Yamaguchi,Shin-Shimonoseki,Asa,Kokura, andHakata.

NoKodama service operates the entire distance from Tokyo to Hakata. For this reason, a transfer is required at Shin-Osaka in order to proceed in either direction.

• 500 series 8-car V sets
• 700-7000 series 8-car E sets
• N700A series 16-car X/K sets, modified from Z/N sets
• N700 series 8-car S/R
  • 8-car P sets modified from K sets began service on 12 September 2025.^[3]

• 
  JR West 500 seriesKodama, August 2010
• 
  JR West N700 series, April 2009

• 0 series
• 100 series
• 300 series
• 500 series 16-car W sets
• 700-0 series
• 700-3000 series

• 
  JR West 0 series atHigashi-Hiroshima Station, July 2003
• 
  JR West 100 series, October 2008
• 
  JR West 300 series, October 2008
• 
  JR West 500 series set W7 (left) on theNozomi 29 service passing set W8 (right) on theKodama 697 service atShin-Iwakuni Station, November 2008
• 
  JR Central 700 series, April 2009

• 151 series

(All cars are no smoking except for smoking compartments located in cars 3, 7, 10, and 15.)

(All cars are no smoking except for smoking compartments in cars 3 and 7.)

(All cars are no smoking except for smoking compartments in cars 3 and 7.)

(All cars are non-smoking.)

• G: Green car (first class) (reserved seating)
• R: Standard class reserved seating
• C: Standard class reserved seating + compartments
• NR: Standard class non-reserved seating

Kodama debuted as alimited express service on the Tokaido Main Line on 1 November 1958. Services used151 series trainsets. This was the firstEMU train service of theJapanese National Railways classified as a limited express, the highest (fastest) of train types on the national railway system. The train travelled betweenTokyo Station andOsaka Station in six hours and 50 minutes and first enabled passengers to go and return between the two cities in one day. This is why the train was namedKodama, or echo.^{[citation needed]}

Anarrow gaugeworld speed record of 163 km/h was established by a 151 seriesKodama trainset on 31 July 1959.^[4] The conventionalKodama train ran until 30 September 1964, the day beforeKodama debuted on the Shinkansen.^{[citation needed]}

The ShinkansenKodama services began on 1 October 1964, operating between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka.

From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, the remaining100 series K sets were withdrawn fromKodama services, with services operated by 8-car700 series E sets becoming entirely non-smoking.^[5] On-board trolley refreshment services were also discontinued on all JR CentralKodama services from the same date.^[6] Also, some of the 16-car500 series that used to run as theNozomi service were cut short to eight cars to run as theKodama service.

In an announcement by JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu made on 17 October 2023, the companies stated that all onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, San'yo, and Kyushu Shinkansen trains would be discontinued by Q2 2024;^[7] this took effect on 16 March 2024.^[8]

• List of named passenger trains of Japan

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKodama (train).

• Central Japan Railway Company
• West Japan Railway Company
• Railway services introduced in 1958
• Named Shinkansen trains
• Tōkaidō Shinkansen

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