West Hikari

0 series 12-car set SK5 on a West Hikari service, March 1997

These services first appeared in 1988 on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka
and Hakata using 6-car 0 series trains. 0 series 12-car SK units were employed
on these services from 1989. From 11 March 2000, they were mostly replaced by th
e new 700 series Hikari Rail Star services, and were finally withdrawn on 21 Apr
il 2000.
Grand Hikari
These were the premier services operated between Tokyo and Hakata from 11 March
1989 using JR West 16-car 100 series V sets with four double-deck centre cars in
cluding a restaurant car.[2] These operated at a maximum speed of 230 km/h on th
e Sanyo Shinkansen (compared to 220 km/h for other Hikari services).[3] From 11
March 2000, restaurant car services were discontinued on all trains, and from Ma
y 2002 onwards, the few remaining Grand Hikari services were limited to the Sany
o Shinkansen only. The last Grand Hikari ran in November 2002.
Children's play area on a Family Hikari service, December 2003
Family Hikari
First appearing in the summer of 1995, these seasonal services operated between
Shin-Osaka and Hakata during holiday periods using special 6-car 0 series sets (
R2 and R24) which included a children's play area in car 3. All seats were reser
ved on these services.
Hikari Rail Star
JR West began operating the Hikari Rail Star service from the start of the new t
imetable on 11 March 2000. This service is limited to the Sanyo Shinkansen, and
uses special 8-car 700 series trains with a distinctive livery and a maximum spe
ed of 285 km/h. JR West introduced the service to provide better competition aga
inst airlines on the Osaka-Fukuoka route. These services do not have Green car a
ccommodation, but the reserved seating cars feature 2+2 seating and also some 4seat compartments instead of the standard 3+2 arrangement in non-reserved seatin
g cars. The front row of seats in these cars feature power outlets for laptop us
ers. With the discontinuation of the Hikari Rail Star from 2011, the 700 Series
Shinkansen trains used on the service have been running on Kodama services.