The Hakutaka (はくたか, "white hawk") is a high-speed shinkansen train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Tokyo and Kanazawa on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan.
The shinkansen service was introduced on 14 March 2015, but the name was first used for a limited express service operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) from 1965 until 1982, and later by JR West and Hokuetsu Express between 1997 and March 2015.
As of 16 March 2024[update], the Hakutaka service sections are as follows:[1] Trains operate at a maximum speed of 260 km/h (160 mph).
[6] The Hakutaka name was reinstated from 23 March 1997 for use on new limited express services jointly operated by JR West and Hokuetsu Express connecting Kanazawa with Echigo-Yuzawa on the Joetsu Shinkansen via the newly built Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line, operating at a maximum speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).
[4] (Fukui) – Kanazawa – Takaoka – Toyama – Uozu – Itoigawa – Naoetsu – Echigo-Yuzawa The last Hakutaka limited express service ran on 13 March 2015, replaced by new high-speed shinkansen services from the start of the revised timetable introduced the following day.