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| EMU 6020 series, including orange-colored Q-SEAT car, arrives at Oimachi station |
I recently visited Oimachi on the Tokyu-Oimachi line, as I had a business meeting there. After finishing my meeting, I tried using Q-SEAT car on the Oimachi line on my way back home. What's Q-SEAT car? It's a reserved seat car coupled to the EMU Tokyu 6020 series commuter train.
As I have said repeatedly, Japanese businessmen and businesswomen are very busy. They sometimes need something as a treat for themselves, but their journeys home are hard. Needless to say, urban commuter trains are packed on most of the lines in this country. That's a background to urban reserved seat trains appearing.
Q-SEAT car is in Car 3. It has multi-purpose seats, which the conductor can change from long seats to cross seats using a remote control system. The cross seat mode is applied when it's provided as a Q-SEAT car during rush hour. The fee for a seat reservation is 400 yen. Even in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Q-SEAT car was almost full. It's probably because passengers can keep distance from each other.
Incidentally, the 6020 series was launched in 2018. Same as the 2020 series on the Den-en-toshi line, the 6020 series is characterized by its unique "face". It's white and round. The crescent-shaped accent strikes passengers' eyes. The large cowcatcher integrated with the face also stands out conspicuously. The standard long seat cars of the 6020 series have an orange-colored stripe; meanwhile, the Q-SEAT car has a plain orange-colored body. It's easy to recognize.
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| Interior of the Q-SEAT car (cross seat mode), the EMU Tokyu 6020 series Official information about the rollingstock of Tokyu Railways (in Japanese): |