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in Japan are long-distance sleeper trains, nicknamed as such for the color of the train cars. They consist of 20-, 14- or 24-series sleeper cars, and as of 2015 run on three routes connecting major destinations within Japan across long distances, other routes being served by a fleet of newer limited-express sleeper trains which are not blue. Five Blue Train services were eliminated in 2008 and 2009. The Japan Railways Group (JR) is expected, according to the Asahi Shimbun, to begin phasing out most of the other sleeper services as well. ==History== The first Blue Train was known as the ''Asakaze''. It ran between Hakata and Tokyo beginning in 1956; air-conditioned cars were added two years later. As was the case with sleeper train services in other parts of the world, the Blue Trains acquired a romantic aspect and, at the peak of their popularity in the late 1970s, appeared in many novels. They were often described as "hotels on the move". More recently, however, as the shinkansen (bullet train), buses, and airplanes have become faster, more popular, and sometimes cheaper, the Blue Trains have seen a severe decline in ridership and therefore revenues. The 2005 ridership on sleeper trains traveling west from Tokyo was calculated as one-fifth of that in 1987. For this and other reasons, such as aging equipment and a shortage of overnight staff, JR made plans to eliminate the majority of the overnight services.〔Furuya, Masanobu. "JR putting Blue Trains to bed as passengers find faster ways to travel". ''Asahi Shimbun - English Edition''. 11 December 2007. Accessed 12 December 2007.〕 The ''Asakaze'' service connecting Hakata and Tokyo was eliminated in 2005, its average occupancy below 30 percent. The ''Hayabusa'' and ''Fuji'' were eliminated in March 2009. The daily ''Hokuriku'' train from Tokyo to Kanazawa was discontinued on 13 March 2010 along with its former Blue Train counterpart, the ''Noto''. Services like the ''Twilight Express'' and ''Cassiopeia'', however, retain their popularity in the tourist market, due to their more luxurious status and the absence of a Shinkansen line to Hokkaido, though this may change in Fiscal 2016. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blue Train (Japan)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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