Diesel Railcar Kashima Rinkai Railway 8000 series stands at Oarai station yardFollowing my previous post, I'm carrying on a recent topic of the Oarai-Kashima line, Kashima Rinkai Railway.
On March 26th 2016, the company launched a new diesel railcar named 8000 series. The introduction of a new model was for the first time in 31 years on the Oarai-Kashima line. The purpose of this new model was to replace the decrepit model, 6000 series. Six carriages in total were built by Niigata Transys from 2016 to 2020.
With regard to the technical specifications, the 8000 series has a 20 meter-long steel body and a diesel engine, which was manufactured by IHI Power Systems, with a 330 PS / 2000 rpm output. The transmission system is hydraulic. The 8000 series is often operated with two cars, but can't be coupled with the 6000 series. It's because the 8000 series has an electric command pneumatic brake. In other words, these two models have different braking systems.
As you may know, the old 6000 series has cross seats and four passenger doors per carriage. It's comfortable for tourists. Different from the 6000 series, the new 8000 series has six passenger doors per carriage and only long seats. It might be good for local commuters and high school students for smooth getting on and off, but a bit boring for a tourist like me to be honest. To get a taste of what a holiday feels like, I prefer the 6000 series to the 8000 series. Sorry, this is entirely just my own personal opinion.
Side view of the diesel railcar Kashima Rinkai Railway 8000 series