Dora Railway News and Commentary: JR West's West Express Ginga (including things to do in San'in)

West Express Ginga is a luxury sleeper train operated by JR West. It runs between Kyoto/Osaka Area and Izumoshi in the San'in area. The rolling stock used in this sleeper service is the 117 series. The 117 series train was formerly used as shinkaisoku (新快速, special rapid service) commuter trains in the Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe area by the Japanese National Railways (kokutetsu, 国鉄, 國鐵). Btw, JNR was privitised and split into 6 passenger companies according to region and one freight company. However, some of those old trains was refurbished for use for sleeper services. Originally, this sleeper service was slated to start running by May 2020, but was postponed to September 11 the same year due to coronavirus infections.

117 Series for use on this sleeper service

San'in area

Made up of Shimane and Tottori, as well as the northern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture in the Chugoku region.

map of Japan with the San'in region shaded in red

rail map of the Chugoku area

Taken from https://www.offthetrackjapan.com/7-day-jr-sanyo-sanin-area-pass/

Map of San'in (Japanese)

Access to San'in area

Service patterns

This sleeper service makes 2 round trips between Kyoto/Osaka and Izumoshi weekly since the start of operations on 11 September 2020. However, the eastbound service terminates at Osaka, so passengers going to Kyoto must switch to a shinkaisoku or kaisoku upon arriving in Osaka. Not just a sleeper service, it also operates as a daytime limited express train from Osaka to Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Sanin Route

Sanyo Route

Configuration

The West Express Ginga uses 6-car 117 series trains.

Car 1 is the reserved green car seating. This car have a capacity for 16 daytime passengers during daytime, and half of that for sleeper services. For daytime services, box seats are arranged with a foldable table and lamp. But, those box seats can be converted to a single bed with the table folded away during nightime. This car also have a mini longue space which offers some books.

layout of car 1

Car 2 is a standard car only reserved for female passengers. It comprises of a mixture of reclining seats and couchette style sleeping areas. Those couchette style berths are fitted with individual lightning for each berth and luggage storage space for convenience.

layout of car 2

Car 3 comprises both standard compartment and "family cabins" which have a bench style seating that can be folded out into a sleeping area and can house families of 3 to 4 people. It also houses a free space area equipped with books and magazines for passengers to use when they want to get up and stretch their legs.

layout for car 3

standard seating area with reclining seats

family cabins

free space area

Car 4 houses a multi-purpose recreational space for passengers to hang out where 4 of its tables have inlaid board games such as chess and backgammon, as well as also used for events.

layout for car 4

layout for car 5

inside car 4

Car 5 is a standard car that houses couchette style sleeping areas, which has "nobi-nobi" seats where passengers can lie flat and sleep.

sleeping berths in car 5

layout of car 6

Car 6 houses 5 premium green car cabins which offers sitting benches that can be converted to beds. 4 of the cabins are for multiple travelers, which holds up to 3 passengers during daytime and 2 during night time, while the other one is for single travelers. This car also has a free space area when passengers can seat and enjoy the passing scenery.