Following my introduction of the EMU 2100 series, I’d like to show you some of the other trains operated by the Ichibata Electric Railway.
Before that, let me briefly review this railway. Ichibata is a local private railway company in Shimane Prefecture. It connects the cities of Matsue and Izumo, with a total operating length of 42.2 kilometers. The line is single-tracked, and the track gauge is 1,067 millimeters. Its electric system is 1,500 V DC.
The Kitamatsue Line serves as the main route between Matsue-Shinjiko-onsen and Dentetsu-Izumoshi (33.9 kilometers), while the Taisha Line branches off from Kawato to Izumotaisha-mae (8.3 kilometers).
The EMU 1000 series consists of former Tokyu 1000 series trains. A total of three sets—six units—were transferred to Ichibata in 2014 and 2015 after being rebuilt from intermediate cars into driving cars. Each set is composed of one motor car and one trailer car (1M1T). The motor car is equipped with four 130 kW induction motors. The propulsion system uses an IGBT–VVVF inverter. The front design is similar to that of the Fukushima Kotsu 1000 series EMU.
The 7000 series is Ichibata’s first newly built model in 86 years. Four cars were manufactured by Kinki Sharyo and Goto Kogyo between 2016 and 2018. Each car is a large 20-meter-long stainless-steel vehicle equipped with two 270 kW induction motors (0.5M) and an IGBT–VVVF control system. Both longitudinal and transverse seating are provided. The front design resembles that of the JR West 225 series EMU.
