On October 12th, Keisei Electric Railway announced that the passengers of the third generation Skyliner exceeded 45 million on that day. Keisei held a commemoration ceremony at Narita Airport Terminal 1 station. The 45 millionth passenger received a bouquet and a commemorative gift.
Skyliner is the airport access train. It's operated between Ueno, a subcenter of Tokyo, and Narita Airport Terminal 1, which is the second international airport in the metropolitan area. The EMU Keisei AE series is the third-generation vehicle for Skyliner train. It was launched in 2010 to replace the old model, the AE100 series. This limited express train is able to travel with a 160 kilometers per hour maximum speed, which is the fastest in Japan except the Shinkansen vehicles. The AE series is characterized by the crow-shaped black faces. It was designed by a famous fashion designer, Yamamoto Kansai. The interior of Skyliner is luxurious. For example, it has gorgeous reclining seats with wide seat pitches and wide luggage spaces. The AE series won the 2011 Blue Ribbon Prize by Japan Railfan Club as the best train that debuted in 2010.
One set of the AE series, namely set AE7, currently displays a gold-colored commemoration sticker on the front of the train. It proudly says "Thanks, 45 million passengers". There had been less passengers on the Skyliner train in the past few years due to the COVID-19 calamity, but the number of passengers has recently returned to pre-COVID times. Congratulations on the 45 million passengers!
