Aoba
Service type	Shinkansen
Operator	JR East
Line used	Tōhoku Shinkansen
Maximum speed	240 km/h
Started	1945 (Express) 1982 (Shinkansen)
Ended	1997
Rolling stock	200 series, E1 series

Aoba (あおば^?) is the name of an all-stations service that operated until 1997 on the Tōhoku Shinkansen in Japan.

[edit] History

The name Aoba (written as "青葉") was first used from 20 November 1945 on an express (急行, kyūkō^?) service between Ueno in Tokyo and Sendai on the Tōhoku Main Line. This continued until the train was renamed Kitakami (きたかみ^?) on 1 October 1965.^[1]

The Aoba name (written as "あおば") was reintroduced from 20 March 1971 on Limited express services between Sendai and Akita. These services were discontinued on 24 November 1975.^[1]

From the start of services on the newly opened Tōhoku Shinkansen on 23 June 1982, Aoba was the name used for the all-stations shinkansen services operating initially between Ōmiya and Sendai, later between Ueno and Sendai, and eventually between Tokyo and Sendai.^[1]

The number of Aoba services was reduced from December 1995 following the introduction of the Nasuno all-stations service, and the name was finally discontinued from 1 October 1997 when the remaining trains were integrated with Yamabiko services.

[edit] References