The Excess Express at the Rogueport Station

“I know it won't be easy. But one day, I'm going to ride this Excess Express!”

—Laki,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

TheExcess Express is a luxurious train boarded byMario and his partners on their way toPoshley Heights inChapter 6: 3 Days of Excess of the gamePaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It can be found inRogueport's West Side, next to theblimp that takes Mario toGlitzville. It departs from Rogueport Station and stops atRiverside Station before arriving in Poshley Heights at the Poshley Heights Station. Conversely, it can depart from Poshley Heights, stop at Riverside Station, and arrive back in Rogueport on a return trip. The initial trip takes three days, though it only takes one day in subsequent departures, with Mario being able to sleep for the entirety of the ride. The train consists of a locomotive, three passenger cars, a dining car, and a baggage car.

The Excess Express may have taken inspiration from the Orient Express from the English detective novelMurder on the Orient Express. Similar to the story in the book, Chapter 6 ofThe Thousand-Year Door involves a crime being committed on a train and several of the passengers being suspects. Both casts of characters include a detective (Pennington, who resemblesHercule Poirot from the novel) and a celebrity (Zip Toad, who loosely references Linda Arden from the novel).

In the GameCube original, the Excess Express is not a defined location on theMagical Map. Whenever Mario takes the train, the location Mario is at according to theMagical Map is where the train is stopping at or last stopped at. For example, if the train is en route fromRiverside Station toPoshley Heights, the map shows that Mario is still at Riverside Station. In the Nintendo Switch remake, the Excess Express now has its own map node, name, and description located between Rogueport and Riverside Station. When inside the train, the map shows Mario on its map node, regardless of where the train is currently stationed.

History[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

Pennington inside a passenger car

The Excess Express is featured in aRDM article, which says that the Excess Express staff tackled aLaki, a train-obsessedLakitu, who was in a staff-only area. This incident made the train late for the first time in ten years, though the staff allowed him to leave with just a warning.

After returning toRogueport fromKeelhaul Key, theMagical Map leadsMario and hispartners to thePoshley Sanctum inPoshley Heights, where theGarnet Star is located. LikeGlitzville, Mario needs a ticket to get to the Excess Express, whichProfessor Frankly says is the only way to reach Poshley Sanctum. After doingDon Pianta's cronies (Tony andVinny) a favor (finding Don'sdaughter and herboyfriend), the Don gives Mario anExcess Express Ticket. While on the way to the station,Beldam spied on Mario and his party, revealing herself and thanking Mario's partner for saying that the next star is in Poshley Heights. Knowing they must reach the star before theThree Shadows do, Mario and his partners head for the station.

During the three-day train ride, many unfortunate events happen, forging the premise of awhodunit novel or film and hindering Mario and his partner by keeping them from getting thesixth Crystal Star. First,Heff T. stealsChef Shimi'sstew, causing an upset. Next,Doopliss, disguised asZip Toad, steals thebusinessman'sbriefcase containingNitro Honey Syrup andVital Paper, thewaitress'sShell Earrings, andToodles'Gold Ring. At the behest of Beldam, he planned to mix the things he stole together to bomb the train, resulting in what he described as a "sticky, yummy explosion" in the threatening letter he left in Mario's cabin. Mario and his partners enlist the help ofPennington to foil his diabolical plans, and in doing so, returned the stolen items to their rightful owners.

A third mystery, a missingblanket, leads to Mario meetingGhost T. after usingVivian'sVeil ability in Cabin 004. The mystery begins with theExcess Express conductor realizing a blanket has gone missing, leaving him to believe there is a passengers without a ticket on the train. Mario has to retrieve Ghost T.'sdiary for the ghost to agree to return the blanket. If Mario opens the diary, he will be warned three times not to read it. If he ignores all three warnings, he will be only allowed to read the first three lines before Ghost T. appears, causing the screen to spin around in the original version or turn static in theremake. In both cases, an instantGame Over occurs.

The final mystery occurs on Day 2. After the Three Shadows' sticky bomb plan was foiled, they ordered a horde ofSmorgs atRiverside Station to guard the station's drawbridge switch to keep the bridge lifted and prevent the train from progressing any further. After Mario ventures inside the station, he fends off the horde and lowers the drawbridge, allowing the train to continue on its journey; however, during this time, the Smorgs secretly invade the train. The next morning, the horde attacks the train and kidnaps all the passengers and staff onboard, with the exception of Ghost T., theExcess Express engineer, and the redToad who runs theSales Stall, though the Toad is knocked unconscious. Whereas theExcess Express waitress andExcess Express conductor are held captive in the baggage car, the others have been absorbed into the horde of Smorgs. Mario must use hisHammer to navigate through the Smorgs and fight them atop the locomotive. This is theonly time the train's rooftops can be accessed. Eventually, Mario and his partners defeat the Smorgs, freeing the passengers and saving the Excess Express, which soon arrives in Poshley Heights.

Mario acquires the Garnet Star, which was hidden in a secret area of thePoshley Sanctum, they ride the train back to Rogueport. With the train ticket permanently in his inventory, Mario and his partners can board the Excess Express any time after Chapter 6 to travel between Rogueport and Poshley Heights; however, Mario can no longer access the baggage car outside of glitches. Later in the game, Mario receivesemails from characters on the train, including the realZip Toad andGhost T.

Super Paper Mario[edit]

During Chapter 3-4 inSuper Paper Mario,Francis writes about wishing to buy an Excess Express train set in a list of future purchases found in his room.

Inhabitants[edit]

Jr. Troopa flying in the background of Zip Toad's photograph

Below is a list of the occupants of the eight cabins of the Excess Express. With the exception of Mario, Ghost T., and Heff T., all occupants are replaced by various travelingToads,Koopa Troopas, andGoombas after Chapter 6. The staff on the train does not change after Chapter 6.Jr. Troopa can be seen in the background of a photograph Zip Toad sends Mario viaemail, though the player cannot interact with him and it does not appear that he is actually a passenger on the train.

Main story[edit]

• Cabin 001:Doopliss (disguised asZip Toad)
• Cabin 002:Toodles
• Cabin 003:Heff T.
• Cabin 004:Ghost T.
• Cabin 005:Mario and his partners
• Cabin 006:Pennington
• Cabin 007:Businessman
• Cabin 008:Goldbob,Sylvia, andBub
• Excess Express conductor
• Excess Express engineer
• Chef Shimi
• Excess Express waitress
• Red Toad who runs theSales Stall

After Chapter 6[edit]

Following Chapter 6, all passengers are replaced with a selection of random travelers. The backslashes indicate the potential individuals or groups that occupy the cabins following the main story. A Yoshi can appear as one of the randomly selected passengers in the dining car, the only Yoshi in the game other than Mario's partnerYoshi Kid and the many Yoshis that run across the screen in hisStampede attack.

• Cabin 001: Blue Toad, orange female Toad or red female Toad / chartreuse child Toad or light blue child Toad
• Cabin 002: Purple female Toad, green Toad, blue Toad, Koopa Troopa or Goomba
• Cabin 003:Heff T.
• Cabin 004:Ghost T.
• Cabin 005:Mario and his partners
• Cabin 006: Blue Toad or green Toad
• Cabin 007: Orange female Toad, light blue child Toad or chartreuse child Toad
• Cabin 008: Red Toad or Koopa Troopa / red child Toad or green child Toad
• Dining car: Random combination of red Toad, red female Toad, blue Toad, green Toad, green child Toad, purple female Toad, chartreuse child Toad, Koopa Troopa, Goomba, Yoshi, orLakitu

Enemies[edit]

• 

  Smorg (Chapter 6 Boss)

Collectibles[edit]

Additional items are on sale at theSales Stall item shop in the dining car, which also contains shop point rewards.

Field/Given/Objects[edit]

Item	Location	Location image
		Original	Remake
Autograph	Given by theengineer while doingBub's favor. Required to progress.
Blanket	Given byGhost T. after returning theRagged Diary to him. Required to progress.
Briefcase	Given byDoopliss asZip Toad after he is caught.Mario later returns it to thebusinessman. Required to progress.
Coin	30 given byToodles after giving her back herGold Ring. Can also be given to her in her house in Poshley Heights.
	40 given byChef Shimi after completing histrouble.
Dried Mushroom	Left by someone inside a drawer in cabin 005.
Galley Pot	Found inHeff T.'s drawer after following the trail of stew to cabin 003. Required to progress.
Gold Ring	Given byDoopliss asZip Toad after he is caught. Required to progress.
Mushroom Super Mushroom	Given by theconductor after returning theblanket to him. Required to progress.
Ragged Diary	Found behind some crates in the baggage room. Accessible using Paper Mode. Required to progress.
Shell Earrings	Given byDoopliss asZip Toad after he is caught. Required to progress.
Vital Paper	Found in cabin 001 after thebusinessman's things are stolen. Required to progress.

Remake only[edit]

Item	Location	Location image
Threatening Note	Automatically obtained in cabin 005. Is treated as an Important Item in the Nintendo Switch remake. Required to progress.

Shine Sprites[edit]

Location	Location image
	Original	Remake
Found in cabin 005
Given byBub after giving theautograph fromthe engineer to him. Required to progress.

Star Pieces[edit]

Location	Location image
	Original	Remake
Found under a panel in front of the gauge in the engineer's room. In the GameCube version, this panel is only accessible while traveling to Poshley Heights.
Found under a panel in the southwest corner in cabin 004.
Given byChef Shimi after returning theGalley Pot.
Given by thewaitress after returning herShell Earrings.
Found in a drawer in cabin 008.

Profiles[edit]

• Tattles
  • "This is a passenger car. Orange and brown decor... That actually looks good! the passenger cabins here are numbered 3, 4, and 5, in case you forgot your numbers."
  • "This is a passenger car. The green and brown colors actually work here. Wow. There are two passenger cabins here, numbers 1 and 2."
  • "This is the dining car. There also seems to be a cute little shop here. Dining and shopping while watching scenery go by... Talk about heavenly..."
  • "This is a passenger car. The blue and brown interior here is totally chic. The passenger cabins here are numbered 6, 7, and 8. ...But you knew that."
  • "This is the engineer's car of the Excess Express. Any kid would LOVE to see this! Look at me, Mario! I'm an engineer! WOOP WOOOOOP! Hey, but driving a train is really nothing to joke about. I totally respect engineers!"
  • "This is the freight car. Usually, passengers aren't allowed back here. Looks like there are lots of bags here, ready to be unloaded at the next stop."
  • "This is the train's roof. Look at that scenery go whipping by! Wowser! ...Look, this is no time for me to be describing stuff! These guys are so ANNOYING! They're flippy and floppy and gross and I HATE them! Let's get rid of them!"
  • "This is the baggage car. Usually, passengers aren't allowed back here. Looks like there's a lot of cargo here, ready to be unloaded at the next stop." (Switch only)
  • "This is cabin five...which is our cabin! If we need to rest, the bunk in here is super comfy. Train naps are the best." (Switch only)

Gallery[edit]

• 

  The outside of the locomotive

• 

  The inside of the locomotive

• 

  The dining car

• 

  The shop in the dining car

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• On Day 3 of the Excess Express, the player will get an email in the dining car in the Japanese version. In the international versions, the player will get this email to the right of Mario's room.

• Railways
• Trains
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door locations
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door objects

• Articles with unsourced foreign names