A new series following freight trains across Japan begins! A collection of footage from Hokkaido's various lines, the Kaikyo Line, and the Tsugaru Line.

This is the first installment in a series that tracks freight trains across the country, showcasing their magnificent runs with long consists, interspersed with scenes of cargo handling at stations, creating a grand collection of running footage.

This volume features trains hauled by EH800 series locomotives on the Kaikyo Line (which shares tracks with the Hokkaido Shinkansen) and the Tsugaru Line and South Hokkaido Railway Line before and after it, as well as trains hauled by DF200 series locomotives on the Hakodate Main Line, Muroran Main Line, Chitose Line, Sekisho Line, Nemuro Main Line, and Sekihoku Main Line.

On the Sekihoku Main Line, we follow trains operating in a rare push-pull configuration in Japan. Footage also includes trains hauled by EH500 series locomotives on the Tsugaru Line, Kaikyo Line, and Esashi Line before the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen.

■ Tsugaru Line, Kaikyo Line, Esashi Line
Before the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, EH500 series dual-system electric locomotives, nicknamed "ECO-POWER Kintaro," operated through the Seikan Tunnel to Hokkaido, handling services up to Goryokaku Station, the starting point of the Esashi Line.

■ Kaikyo Line, South Hokkaido Railway Line
In 2016, the Hokkaido Shinkansen opened, and the Kaikyo Line became a three-line rail section shared by the Shinkansen and conventional lines, with the voltage increased from 20,000V to 25,000V.
Since then, the EH800 series dual-voltage AC electric locomotive has dominated freight train hauling in the section including the Tsugaru Line and the South Hokkaido Railway Line, which took over from the Esashi Line.

■ Hakodate Main Line
Trains hauled by DF200 series diesel locomotives, "ECO-POWER RED BEAR," soon after departing Goryokaku Station, use a separate downhill-only line, commonly known as the "Fujishiro Line," to ease the upward gradient.
Between Onuma and Mori, downhill trains use the main line, while uphill trains use the "Sabara Line."

■ Muroran Main Line, Chitose Line
To avoid the steep gradients of the Hakodate Main Line's mountain section, freight trains, like JR Hokkaido's limited express trains, use the Muroran Main Line and Chitose Line.
Most of this section is double-tracked and predominantly flat, but there are continuous long tunnels near Koboro Station, known as a "remote station."

■ Nemuro Main Line
The section from the starting point, Takikawa, was once the main route to Obihiro and Kushiro. However, with the opening of the Sekisho Line, freight operations were divided after 1987 into the Takikawa-Furano section and the section east of Kami-Ochiai Signal Station, which connects to the Sekisho Line.
This volume follows freight trains that enter the Nemuro Main Line from Takikawa via the Hakodate Main Line, up to the cargo handling operations at their final destination, Furano Station.

■ Sekisho Line, Nemuro Main Line
The Sekisho Line, upon its opening in 1981, became the main route connecting the Sapporo area with the Obihiro and Kushiro areas of the Nemuro Main Line. In the Karikachi Pass section, which shares tracks with the Nemuro Main Line, scenic "omega curves" continue amidst grand landscapes.

■ Hakodate Main Line, Sekihoku Main Line
In the northern section of the Hakodate Main Line, DF200 series locomotives run under the overhead wires up to Kitakyūshū Station on the Sōya Main Line.
On the Sekihoku Main Line, known for its "Onion Train," push-pull operations are performed to prepare for crossing the two mountain passes of Kitami and Tsunenobu, and for the two switchbacks at Shin-Asahikawa Station and Engaru Station.

■ South Hokkaido Railway Line, Kaikyo Line, Tsugaru Line
Approaching from the South Hokkaido Railway Line, trains enter the Kaikyo Line, which shares tracks with the Shinkansen. After passing through the Seikan Tunnel, they proceed through the Ohirafuto junction to Shin-Nakagoyama Signal Station, a point for switching the signal safety system and voltage.
The trains then ascend the Tsugaru Line, and from within Aomori Station, they use the Ou Main Line freight branch line to directly access the Aoimori Railway Line.

■ Narrator: Hideki Hagawa
■ Composition & Direction: Masayuki Miyaji
■ Production: Dōrindō Co., Ltd.
■ Composition & Direction: Masayuki Miyaji
■ Production & Release: Dōrindō Co., Ltd.
■ Distributor: V-COM Inc.
■ Licensed by: JR Hokkaido Product Development Approved, JR Freight Approved

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