I recently visited Kyoto City on a business trip. I was very busy there, but I could secure just a short while to see several local trains at Kyoto station after finishing my meeting.
It's lucky that I came across the EMU JR West 103 series on track number 9 of the Nara line. The 103 series was commissioned in 1963 by Japanese National Railways (JNR). It was a representative JNR commuter train between the 1960s and 1980s. Many builders, such as Kisha-seizo, Tokyu-sharyo and Kinki-sharyo, built 3,447 cars over 21 years. The design and specification are rather old, but it seems very sturdy. The 103 series has been underpinning Japan's economic growth for the last 57 years, as it has been transporting hundreds of millions of commuters.
Most of the 103 series have already been retired from the tracks and scrapped. We can't see it anymore in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The situation is similar in Kyoto, but two sets (set NS407 and NS409) of 4-car trains are still operated on the Nara line. These trains have light green-colored steel bodies. One set is composed of two motorcars and two trailers (2M2T).
The old trains are constantly being replaced by the new models in Japan. The old commuter trains, which have been introduced by JNR, are being replaced by new ones by JR group companies. The final chapter of the JR West 103 series has just begun.
 |
Set 407 of the EMU JR West 103 series stands at Kyoto station Official information about JR West local trains (in Japanese): |