The is a limited express passenger train service operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) mainly between Kyoto Station to Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Dubbed as the Kansai Airport Limited Express (関空特急) by JR West, it is the fastest train service connecting the airport with downtown Osaka and Kyoto, and also travels to and from via Kyoto during peak hours. A change of trains was required at either or in order to access Ōsaka Station, before the Umekita underground platforms and tracks for the service at the station were opened in 2023 with a revised timetable.
Operations
There are a total of 30 daily return workings per direction (30 to the airport, 30 from the airport), with services operating every half an hour through most of the day. A typical travel time between Kyoto Station and the airport takes 1 hour 20 minutes per way.
The train service once traveled on the which was used to bypass Ōsaka Station when it runs from the Tōkaidō Main Line to Osaka Loop Line and vice versa, until the underground tracks and platforms for trains either stopping at and passing the former were opened on 18 March 2023.
{|class=wikitable
!Line
!Station
!Transfers
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|rowspan=7|Tōkaidō<br />(Biwako)
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|-
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|-
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|Kusatsu Line
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|Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line
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|-
|'
|Kosei Line, Keihan Keishin Line, Subway Tōzai Line
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|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Sanin Main Line, Nara Line<br />Kintetsu Kyoto Line, Subway Karasuma Line
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|rowspan=3|Tōkaidō<br />(JR Kyoto)
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|'
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|-
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Sanyō Shinkansen,<br />Subway Midōsuji Line, <br />Osaka Higashi Line
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| rowspan="3" |Tōkaidō<br />(freight branch)<br />Osaka Loop
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|Fukuchiyama Line, Hankyu Line, Hanshin Line, Kintetsu Osaka Line, Subway Midosuji Line, Osaka Loop Line, Osaka Higashi Line
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|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|Yamatoji Line,<br />Subway Midōsuji and Tanimachi Lines,<br />Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line
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|rowspan=3|Hanwa
|-
|'
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|-
|rowspan=2|'
|rowspan=2|Hanwa Line for
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|rowspan=2|Kansai Airport
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|}
Rolling stock
right|thumb|271 series EMU
- 281 series (since September 1994)
- 271 series (since March 2020)
Formations
6-car formations
6-car formations are arranged as shown below, with car 1 at the Maibara/Kyoto end.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Car No. !! style="background: #E6FFE6"| 1 !! style="background: #FFF2E6"| 2 !! style="background: #FFF2E6"| 3 !! style="background: #FFF2E6"| 4 !! 5 !! 6
|-
! Numbering
| style="background: #F5FFF5"| KuRo 280 || style="background: #FFFAF5"| MoHa 281 || style="background: #FFFAF5"| SaHa 281 || style="background: #FFFAF5"| SaHa 281-100 || MoHa 281 || KuHa 281
|-
! Accommodation
| style="background: #F5FFF5"| Green || style="background: #FFFAF5"| Reserved || style="background: #FFFAF5"| Reserved || style="background: #FFFAF5"| Reserved || Non-reserved || Non-reserved
|-
! Facilities
| style="background: #F5FFF5"| Toilet || style="background| Wheelchair space / Toilet || style="background: #FFFAF5" |
| toilet
|}
All cars are non-smoking.
History
The Haruka service was inaugurated on 4 September 1994 using 3-car 281 series EMUs.
Haruka services were reduced since September 2020 due to low passenger demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, only operating during morning and evening commuter hours. Daytime Haruka services were partially restored from 1 July 2022, with the remaining services reinstated on 1 November 2022 to coincide with the reopening of Japan's borders.
From the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2023, all Haruka services began to make a stop at Ōsaka Station using the new Umekita underground platforms set aside for these services, facilitating better connectivity between the airport and the city center. In preparation for the opening of the Umekita underground platforms, train services were rerouted from the Umeda Freight Line from 13 February 2023. The new platforms opened for service a month later on 18 March 2023.
Future plans
On 22 November 2024, JR West and Kyoto City announced that Haruka services currently terminating at Kyoto Station would be extended to Yamashina Station from fiscal 2029 to relieve congestion at Kyoto Station, particularly the Sagano Line platform shared with the Haruka trains. The renovation project of Yamashina Station is scheduled to commence in 2025 and aimed at developing the Yamashina area as the eastern gateway to the city by enabling transfer to the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tōzai Line and other modes of public transport, thereby improving accessibility and promoting sustainable tourism.<gallery>
File:JRWest281 HelloKittyHaruka"Butterfly".jpg|281 series Hello-Kitty train Butterfly set in September 2019
File:JRWest281 HelloKittyHaruka"Ori-Tsuru".jpg|281 series Hello-Kitty train Ori-Tsuru set in August 2019
File:JRWest281 HelloKittyHaruka"Kanzashi".jpg|281 series Hello-Kitty train Kanzashi set in August 2019
File:JRW series271-4 Hanwa Haruka.jpg|271 series Hello-Kitty train in March 2020
File:JRW series271 interior.jpg|271 series Hello-Kitty train interior
File:JRW 281 Hello Kitty Haruka + 30th anniversary Kyoto Station 2025-03-07 (cropped).jpg|281 series with wrapping marking Haruka's 30th anniversary
</gallery>
References
External links
- Official website (in English)
- Limited Express Haruka 281 series
- Haruka train service timetable, PDF