The was an overnight express sleeper train operating on the Tōkaidō Main Line between and in Japan. It was initially operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and, after its privatization in 1987, by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The Ginga followed a similar route to the much faster Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line, and filled the overnight gap in the Shinkansen's timetable. While the last Osaka-Tokyo Shinkansen trains departed at 21:20 (in either direction, as of 2008), Ginga departed Osaka at 22:30 and Tokyo at 23:00, and arrived over an hour before the first Shinkansen arrival the next morning. This made it somewhat popular among business travelers who needed a later departure or earlier arrival than the Shinkansen could provide. However, the numerous overnight buses on the Tokyo-Osaka route largely captured the budget traveler market, while late evening and early morning flights to Kansai Airport (which opened in 1994 and does not have the noise restrictions facing Osaka Airport) were now used by many business travelers who would otherwise have used Ginga. As a result, Ginga'''s ridership fell dramatically and finally the train was discontinued upon the 15 March 2008 timetable revision. On 12 September 2020, JR West introduced a new overnight express sleeper using the Ginga name, the . Rolling stockGinga trains in 2008 consisted of an EF65-1000 electric locomotive, one "A-class" (first class) sleeper car, and seven "B-class" (second-class) sleeper cars. 24 series sleeping cars were used on this train. Stations The westbound Ginga (train No. 101) stopped at , , , , , , , , , , , and . The eastbound Ginga (train No. 102) stopped at Osaka, Shin-Osaka, Kyoto, Ōtsu, Maibara, , , , Atami, Odawara, Ōfuna, Yokohama, Shinagawa, and Tokyo. History The name "Ginga" was first carried from the start of the 15 September 1949 timetable revision by the overnight sleeper train departing from Tokyo at 20:30 to Osaka (arriving at 07:54) and the opposite working from Osaka (21:00) to Tokyo (07:30). Other overnight trains between Tokyo and Osaka were named Myōjō and Ryūsei. Initially formed of first and second class cars only, third class seating cars were added to the Ginga formation from 24 September the same year. 11 November 1953 timetable revision With the completion of electrification to Inazawa, overnight trains between Tokyo and Osaka were increased to four return workings nightly: Myōjō, Ginga, Suisei, and Gekkō. From this date, the