On September 13th, Keisei Electric Railway made a press release announcing that the passengers of the third generation Skyliner exceeded 20 million on that day. At the same time, Keisei held a commemoration ceremony at Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station. The 20 millionth passenger was a German lady, who lives in Shibuya Ward in Tokyo Metropolis.
What is the third generation Skyliner? It is the airport access train, EMU Keisei AE series. The AE series was launched in 2010 to replace the old model, the AE100 series. It is an 8-car train with crow-shaped black faces. A total of 8 sets, 64 units have been built by Nippon Sharyo and Tokyu Sharyo. Its maximum speed is 160 km per hour. The AE series won the 2011 Blue Ribbon Prize by Japan Railfan Club as the best train that debuted in 2010.
Following the debut of the AE series, Keisei changed their airport access train route from the Keisei Main Line to the Narita Sky Access Line in 2010. As a result, the AE series connects Nippori in downtown Tokyo and Narita Airport Terminal 2 in only 36 minutes, which is much faster than their rival, JR East's Narita Express. Currently, one set of the AE series, namely set AE5, has a gold colored commemoration display on the front of the train. It says "thanks 20 million passengers".
For your information, the old (second generation) Skyliner, namely the AE100 series, was retired from the track on February 28th.
Official information about Keisei Skyliner: