Komachi (Shinkansen)
From TrainSpottingWorld, for Rail fans everywhere
Komachi (こまち) is the sole service running on the Akita Shinkansen, using only E3 Series trains. Between Tokyo and Morioka, it couples with a Tōhoku Shinkansen train set E2 Series. After Morioka, the Komachi service continues along former narrow-gauge tracks that have been converted to standard gauge. Because it then runs on tracks that have grade crossings, its maximum speed from Morioka to Akita is 130 km/h, compared to 275 km/h on the first leg.
The Komachi service was named after a famous poet from the area, Ono no Komachi, whose name (小町) is also synonymous with "belle" or "beauty" in Japanese.
