999

The 999 (pronounced "Three-Nines") is the fastest Galaxy Super Express in the Galaxy Railway Service. It served as the main transport and setting of Galaxy Express 999.

Production
Leiji Matsumoto has said that the inspiration for the train and series came from Kenji Miyazawa's 1934 novel Night on the Galactic Railroad.

Overview
The 999 is built to resemble a C62 Steam Locomotive while the passenger cars resemble the Suha 43, Moha 51, and Ohka 61 models. While the number of passenger cars varies by appearance and is never consistent, they usually average to about ten with the observation car on the tail of the train. Interestingly, the 999 is the only Galaxy Super Express that features a steam locomotive appearance compared to its more ultra modern bullet train-like contemporaries. Maetel says that this is so that people can easily recognise the appearance of the 999 since the passengers tend not to come back after boarding the train.

The 999's locomotive front does not require a crew or engineer as it possesses a sophisticated AI that allows it to operate itself while following the regulations of the Galaxy Railways. The AI system also has a bit of a prideful side as it boasts itself the fastest of the Galaxy Super Express trains. Other types of emotions also exist, as seen with its conversations with the Conductor. The engine is also much more efficient in its performance despite evoking the visage of a traditional steam boiler, and uses an alternative means of producing power while allowing anyone to enter the engine room.

Like all other locomotives of the Galaxy Railway Service, the train is capable of reaching many times the speed of light within relative time frames, as it travels across infinite flexible routes reaching throughout the edges of the universe. It supposedly moves at an average speed of 3150 space-kilometres per hour.

To enable the complete operation of universal travel, the Galaxy Railways company uses a special invisible "rail" laid throughout the universe. It consists of an "Orbital Tube" that surrounds the train with breathable air, allowing a window to be opened while traveling through space at relative speeds and act as shielding for the train (for the latter, it is also called the Shield Tube) and "Orbital Rings" that function as junction points every 1.5 universal-kilometres and protect passengers from hostile attacks. As long as the vehicle does not warp, the train run on the invisible rails acts as a form of predetermined trajectories. Inside the tubes are three-way structures that are built to have the outside function like an upstream as well as allow emergency liners of SDF on either side of the express to ensure no outside forces can interrupt or force out the train.

The Galaxy Express line routes are numerous and intricate. Leiji Matsumoto has made a comparison to how they function similar to the blood vessels and nerve fibers of an organism's body. The routes feature many stops on numerous planets and habitable worlds, with some branch points in deep space, and some transfer junction points.

Service
The 999 is one of the most expensive routes available, and many must save up a lifetime's worth of money just to travel on it. Despite being an express service, its routes tend to be quite indirect and can have many stops and layovers, with some lasting a few hours and others lasting for weeks. To compensate for the lengthiness of the stops, passengers are given an allowance and hotel accommodations during especially long layovers. It is believed that the final stop for the 999 is the planet Promethium, where free mechanical bodies are given to those who visit.

The 999 primary voyage is a year-round trip from Earth to the Andromeda System. Because of the nature of the journey and the Andromeda Galaxy being the primary domain of the Machine Empire, most passengers are not accounted for with the responsibilities handled by the Conductor. Once a passenger has reached their destination, they can never go back on the train. Maetel however, is a special case for her job, as was Tetsuro Hoshino when he needed to be evacuated. Also with the disappearance of the terminal station, by Eternal Chapter, the old rules and services have become obsolete with the 999's usual services on indefinite hold.

Cars
The 999 features various specific cars that depending on the media, have been brought up or mentioned.

Observation Car
Exists on the tail of the 999, used to look out and see the many sights as the 999 departs from its port. It is often destroyed or badly damaged in some of the episodes it appears in.

Private Cars
Limited express coaches that are used to imitate newer generation models of trains complete with reclining chairs, fluorescent lamps, higher-end tech, and air conditioning ducts. They are often colored green from the outside to differentiate from the normal coach cars.

Regular Cars
Second-class coaches that feature 4-seater box seats. These are the types of coaches where Tetsuro and Maetel are usually found at.

Sleeper Car
A seldomly seen coach that features beds and blankets and lacks division compared to the seated coach cars.

Dining Car
A coach that features box seats around tables that opens at 8 o'clock (AM and PM). A special cooking device allows passengers to get any type of food they wish, which in the words of the conductor are not synthetic duplicates but genuine food items. Since there is not much staff and the waitress was the only other occupant, it is often speculated that the Conductor is the one who cooks the meals.

Library Car
A car that features domino-stacked bookshelves and feature items including newspapers and magazines. It has only visually appeared in the anime and was only mentioned in the manga.

First-Aid Car
A medical room used to nurse the injured or ill.

Armoured Car
In times of emergencies, this car is used to deal with threats, such as space pirates. The car is equipped with a black hole cannon in the form of a turret that features twin guns and three barrels per gun that are equipped on different sides of the car. Compared to the rest of the 999, this car is noticeably out of place, having a chrome silver colour, more futuristic appearance, and is even operated by a separate artificial intelligence that speaks through a robot.

Trivia

 * The livery of 999 differs between the anime and the film. In the movie and in the side series Galaxy Railways: A Letter from the Abandoned Planet, the engine was coloured a gunmetal grey with its number on its smoke deflectors. In the television series, the locomotive is coloured black with a Galaxy Express logo on the coal tender, and pulls brown coaches with cream window surrounds.
 * Interestingly, A Letter from the Abandoned Planet features the film livery while the characters are voiced by the original TV cast.