After observing the subway Tozai line, I transferred to the Namboku line (North-South line) at Sendai station. My destination was Yaotome station, where rail-fans can shoot subway trains on the elevated track during the daytime instead of on the dark underground track.
Ten years have already passed since I visited here last time, but the taste of the station remained almost unchanged. The train was also unchanged. Everything looked the same as before, but it's certainly a pleasure rather than boring. Why? Because, my last visit was ten months after the giant earthquake hit Sendai City in 2011. The epicenter of the earthquake was located offshore, 170 kilometers east of the city. The Namboku line was severely damaged by the destructive shaking. The bridge girders of the elevated track section near Yaotome station were cracked. The train operation returned to normal just before I visited here last time. I'm thankful to spend ordinary days. Everything is unchanged. That's great!
For your information, the Namboku line was opened in 1987 as the first subway route in Sendai City. Connecting Izumi-chuo and Tomizawa, the route length is 14.8 kilometers. The gauge size is 1,067 millimeters and the electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. The EMU 1000 series is the sole model operated on the line. Train operator, the Transportation Bureau of Sendai City, plans to introduce a new model named EMU 3000 series in the fiscal year 2024. Later, the taste of the Namboku line will be drastically changed.
To be continued...
