As of 23 September 2022, the name was inherited by the new Shinkansen service to Nagasaki, at which point the remaining limited express services between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata were renamed Relay Kamome.
History
The Kamome name (written as "鷗") was first used from 1 July 1937 on limited express trains operating between Tokyo and Kobe. This service continued until February 1943.[1]
The name (written as "かもめ") was subsequently revived from 15 March 1953 for use on limited express services operating between Kyoto and Hakata. This service was discontinued in March 1975 with the completion of the Sanyō Shinkansen to Hakata.[1]
On 1 July 1976, with the electrification of the Nagasaki Main Line, services resumed (initially between Kokura and Nagasaki, later between Hakata and Nagasaki) using 485 series EMUs.[1]
The service in its current form commenced on 23 September 2022, with the opening of the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen which opened from Takeo-Onsen to Nagasaki. With the Shinkansen now being the primary route to Nagasaki, Kamome services were reallocated to Shinkansen services on the newly-built Shinkansen line. This also resulted in Kamome services bypassing Hizen-Kashima, a major station on the Nagasaki Main line but not on the Shinkansen, to be served by the newly-introduced Kasasagi limited express departing from either Hizen-Kashima or Saga.[2]Kasasagi is named after the Eurasian magpie, which is the prefectural bird of Saga.[2]
Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen
On 28 October 2020, JR Kyushu announced it would utilize a 6-car version of the N700S series for the isolated section of Shinkansen from Nagasaki, named the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, with a cross platform interchange to a relay service called Relay Kamome at Takeo-Onsen to connect to Hakata.[3][4][5] JR Kyushu also announced it would continue to use the name Kamome, which has been in use since 1961, for the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen service.[4] Most of the new Kamome Shinkansen services stop at every station between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki, with some services bypassing Ureshino-Onsen, with a few services only stopping at Isahaya. Between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata, the so-called Relay Kamome will continue as a non-Shinkansen train service for the foreseeable future until the Shinkansen is eventually extended to Hakata. Some Midori/Huis Ten Bosch services will also operate as an additional Relay Kamome at Takeo-Onsen styled as either Midori (Relay Kamome) or Huis Ten Bosch (Relay Kamome).[6]
^JR時刻表2022年10月号 [JR Timetable October 2022 issue] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 20 September 2022. pp. 120–127. ASINB0B7QRGTTR.
^西九州新幹線の開業日について [About the opening date of the West Kyushu Shinkansen] (PDF). jrkyushu.co.jp (in Japanese). 2 February 2022. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
JR Kyushu
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