EMU Kobe Electric Railway 5000 series leaves Maruyama station
Because of the state of emergency caused by the new corona virus, I refrain from any nonessential and non-urgent outings. I have no choice but to continue introducing trains, from photos I recently rediscovered on my hard disk.
Kobe is the main city of Hyogo Prefecture, about 600 kilometers west of Tokyo. Although Kobe is a port city facing Osaka Bay, it's also backed by the steep Rokko Mountains. Kobe Electric Railway (Shintetsu) has a 70 kilometers-long extensive network in this mountainous area. Its route has many steep sections.
The EMU Shintetsu 5000 series is a commuter train launched in 1994. It was introduced onto the Shintetsu line to replace an old model, the EMU De 800 series. 10 sets, 40 cars in total, were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. All the cars are still operated on the track. One set is composed of four motorcars. Trailers are not coupled because it's operated on the steep tracks.
Regarding the technical specifications, the 5000 series is Shintetsu's first train, which has a VVVF (variable frequency drive) electric control system with induction motors. GTOs (Gate Turn-off Thyristors) are used as semiconductor elements. A constant-speed travel controller (cruise control system) is equipped, since it helps train drivers on the steep sections. The greatest feature of this train is its frontal face. You can see two large frontal windows without a gangway. It's definitely my favorite design.
The EMU Shintetsu 5000 series is the largest fleet on the Kobe Electric Railway.
Set 5013 of the EMU Kobe Electric Railway 5000 series