You may remember that I posted about the 90th anniversary of Hachiko line last month. I am going to follow up this topic a little bit more today.
After observing the EMU E231-3000 series, which was displaying special memorial plates on the front and back of the train, I moved to the northern half section of the Hachiko line. As I posted before, the JR East Hachiko line is composed of two different sections. The southern section, between Hachioji and Komagawa (31 kilometers), is a commuter route in an urban area. It is electrified at 1,500 V DC. On the other hand, the northern section, between Komagawa and Kuragano (61 kilometers), is a local route in a suburban area. It is non-electrified. The DMU KiHa110 series is commissioned.
I found a train displaying the 90th anniversary plates on the northern half section of the Hachiko line as well. That was a 2-car train, KiHa111-204 and KiHa112-204 of the DMU KiHa110 series. Incidentally, KiHa110 series is composed of three types namely Type KiHa110, KiHa111 and KiHa112. What's the difference between three types? Type KiHa110 has two cabs, so, it is possible to be operated as a train with only one car. On the other hand, Type KiHa111 and KiHa112 have one cab only, so, they have to be operated as 2-car train or more. Type KiHa110 and KiHa111 have toilets; meanwhile, Type KiHa112 doesn’t have a toilet. Learning such subtle differences between trains is the pleasure for trainspotters like me.
