Thunderbird express train in central Japan

NANAO, JAPAN, March 15 Kyodo - A Thunderbird express train leaves Wakuraonsen Station in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on March 15, 2024, for its final run to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Thunderbird express train in central Japan

Thunderbird express train in central Japan

The stationmaster and other well wishers see off a Thunderbird express train at Wakuraonsen Station in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on March 15, 2024, as the train makes its final run to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.

Thunderbird express train in central Japan

Thunderbird express train in central Japan

A Thunderbird express train leaves Wakuraonsen Station in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on March 15, 2024, for its final run to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.

Largest Japanese railway museum prepares for opening

Largest Japanese railway museum prepares for opening

Elementary school students touch the front car of the Raicho (Thunderbird), a limited express train operated between 1964 and 2011, at the Kyoto Railway Museum in the western Japanese city of Kyoto on April 15, 2016, ahead of its grand opening on April 29. The museum, run by the same operator, is one of the largest railway museums in Japan, showcasing a total of 53 trains ranging from the nation's oldest steam locomotive to recent shinkansen bullet train models. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

JR West unveils revamped "Thunderbird" express train

JR West unveils revamped "Thunderbird" express train

A logo derived from Native American mythology featuring the legendary creature thunderbird is painted on West Japan Railway Co.'s remodeled "Thunderbird" limited express train at a press preview on Sept. 25, 2015, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. The redesign was intended to better integrate the train's exterior design with that of bullet trains running on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line inaugurated in March as a new railway link between Kanazawa and Tokyo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

JR West unveils revamped "Thunderbird" express train

JR West unveils revamped "Thunderbird" express train

West Japan Railway Co. unveils at a press preview on Sept. 25, 2015, the new-look "Thunderbird" limited express train in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, that links Osaka and Kanazawa. The redesign was intended to better integrate the train's exterior design with that of bullet trains running on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line inaugurated in March as a new railway link between Kanazawa and Tokyo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo