JR Hokkaido KiHa 283 series

Data (as of 31 Mar 2024)

History

The KiHa 283 series is a tilting diesel train type, based on KiHa 281 series. The KiHa 283 series were introduced to Sekisho and Nemuro Main Lines, and the journey time between Sapporo and Kushiro became 3 hours and 40 minutes, 45 minutes shorter. The KiHa 283 series were operated on Limited Express Super Ōzora (Sapporo - Kushiro, renamed Ōzora in 2020) as well as Super Hokuto (Hakodate - Sapporo, renamed Hokuto in 2020) and Super Tokachi (Sapporo - Obihiro). When the KiHa 283 series were used for Super Hokuto, they were often combined with the KiHa 281 series.

The maximum speed of the series was 130 km/h (81 mph). However, a derailment and fire in 2011 was later found to be caused by poor maintenance. Since JR Hokkaido has been suffering from huge deficit, the company has decided to slow down intercity services including the KiHa 283 series. They now run at up to 110 km/h (68 mph), and the journey times became longer.

Carriages involved in the accident were unable to be repaired and thus scrapped. Replacement commenced in 2020, and withdrawn from all regular services in March 2022, but reinstated in the following year.

Current Operations & Future Prospects

The KiHa 283 series has been used for Okhotsk (Sapporo - Abashiri) and Taisetsu (Asahikawa - Abashiri) since 2023, and each unit is formed of three coaches.