Kamome/Relay Kamome

N700S-8000 series set operating aKamome service enteringShin-Omura Station, January 2023
Overview
Service type	Kamome:Shinkansen (Local) Relay Kamome:Limited express
First service	1937, 2022 (Shinkansen)
Current operator	JR Kyushu
Route
Termini	Hakata Nagasaki
Lines used	Kamome:Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Relay Kamome:Kagoshima,Nagasaki,Sasebo
Technical
Rolling stock	Kamome:N700S-8000 series Relay Kamome:787 and885 series
Operating speed	Kamome: 260 km/h (162 mph) Relay Kamome: 130 km/h (81 mph)

Kamome (Japanese:かもめ;lit. 'seagull') is a high-speedShinkansen service operated on theNishi Kyushu Shinkansen by theKyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan. It runs betweenNagasaki andTakeo-Onsen, where it connects with theRelay Kamome service, which continues between Takeo-Onsen andHakata via theKagoshima,Nagasaki andSasebo lines.

Prior to 23 September 2022,Kamome trains operated the full route between Nagasaki and Hakata. On that date, the name was transferred to the newNishi Kyushu Shinkansen service, and the remaining limited express services between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata were renamedRelay Kamome.

TheKamome name (written as鷗) was first used from 1 July 1937 on limited express services operating betweenTokyo andKōbe. These services operated until February 1943.^[1]

TheKamome name (now written asかもめ) was revived on 15 March 1953 for limited express services operating betweenKyoto and Hakata. This iteration was discontinued in March 1975 following the completion of theSan'yō Shinkansen extension to Hakata.^[1]

On 1 July 1976, following the electrification of the Nagasaki Main Line,Kamome services resumed—initially betweenKokura and Nagasaki, and later between Hakata and Nagasaki—using485 series EMUs.^[1]

The service in its current form began on 23 September 2022 with the opening of theNishi Kyushu Shinkansen section betweenTakeo-Onsen andNagasaki. With the Shinkansen becoming the primary route to Nagasaki, theKamome name was reassigned to services operating on the newly constructed Shinkansen line.

On 28 October 2020, JR Kyushu announced that a six-car version of theN700S series would be used on the isolated Shinkansen section serving Nagasaki, officially named theNishi Kyushu Shinkansen. Services would feature across-platform interchange atTakeo-Onsen with a connecting limited express service branded asRelay Kamome, providing onward connections to Hakata.^[2][3][4]

JR Kyushu also confirmed that theKamome name, in continuous use since 1961, would be retained for the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen services.^[3] MostKamome Shinkansen services stop at all stations between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki, although some services pass throughUreshino-Onsen, and a limited number stop only atIsahaya. Between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata, the limited expressRelay Kamome continues to operate as a non-Shinkansen service and is expected to do so until the Shinkansen is extended to Hakata. SomeMidori services also operate in conjunction withRelay Kamome, branded as "Midori (Relay Kamome)".^[5][6]

• 783 series EMUs (sometimes used whenRelay Kamome is combined with aMidori service)
• 787 series EMUs (since 1992)
• 885 series tilting EMUs (since 2000)

• N700S-8000 series (since 2022)

• 485 series EMUs (1976–2000)^[1]

Service column legend:

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