Special plate to celebrate the twin giant pandas born, the EMU Keisei 3000 seriesOn June 23rd, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that a giant panda, named Shin-shin, gave birth to twins at Ueno Zoo. One is male and the other is female. It was the first time that giant panda twins had been born there. The zoo has been soliciting names for the new-born pandas from the public. Their names will be announced in the middle of October. I anticipate that the giant panda twins will be introduced to the public next year.
To celebrate the twin giant pandas born, Keisei Electric Railway displayed a special plate on the front of their train, set 3025 of the EMU 3000 series, from June 28th to August 31st. Set 3025 is a 6-car train built by Tokyu Sharyo in 2008. As you know, the nearest railway station to Ueno Zoo is Keisei-Ueno on the Keisei line. The purpose of the special plate is to promote tourism to Ueno Zoo.
Four your information, the 3000 series is Keisei's standard commuter train, which was launched in 2002. Forty-eight sets (326 cars) were built by Tokyu Sharyo (present J-TREC) and Nippon Sharyo between 2002 and 2019. The 3000 series has an IGBT-VVVF (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor - variable frequency drive) inverter electric control system with 125 kW induction motors. The EMU Shinkensei-N800 series, Hokuso 7500 series, and Chiba New Town Railway 9200 series have the same technical specifications as the Keisei 3000 series.
I look forward to seeing giant panda twins at Ueno Zoo probably next year.
