I thought that I had already described all of the trains in the metropolitan area in this blog, but there are still some left. The description of trains in this area is endless. Today, I am going to show you one of such rolling stock, diesel railcar 532 series on the Ryugasaki line in Ryugasaki City.
To start, let me quickly review Ryugasaki City and the Ryugasaki line. Ryugasaki City in Ibaraki Prefecture is located some 50 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, and has been developed as a commuter city since the 1970's. The Ryugasaki line of Kanto Railway Company (Kantetsu) is a 4.5-kilometer-long route connecting Sanuki and Ryugasaki stations in Ryugasaki City. The track is un-electrified and single. Diesel railcars are operated every half an hour.
Now, let's head to the main topic. I found a classic vehicle on the line. It's unit KiHa 532 of the diesel railcar Kantetsu KiHa 532 series (see the top photo). This model was commissioned for the Ryugasaki line in 1981. The body was newly manufactured by Niigara Tekko, but the apparatuses were reused of the ex-JNR’s KiHa 20 series. Only one unit is operated on the line. To my delight, Kantetsu discloses the timetable of the KiHa 532 series on their website. It’s often operated on Saturday, and useful for train-spotters like me to avoid bearing a grudge, “I went to the Ryugasaki line, but the KiHa 532 was NOT operated today.” I could fully enjoy this train including nostalgic interior (see the photo below).
Interior of the KiHa 532 series