It’s a bit of old news, but the passengers of the third-generation Keisei Skyliner exceeded 50 million on June 9th last year. I’d like to bring up this topic today.
Let’s start with a quick look at the Skyliner. It’s an airport access train that connects central Tokyo with New Tokyo International (Narita) Airport. The current Skyliner, officially known as the EMU AE series, was introduced in 2010 to replace the previous model, the AE100 series.
The AE series is an electric multiple unit designed for 1,435-millimeter gauge and 1,500 V DC track. A total of eight trainsets, consisting of 64 cars, were built by Nippon Sharyo and Tokyu Sharyo. Each trainset is composed of six motorcars and two trailers (6M2T). The traction system uses an IGBT–VVVF (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor – variable frequency drive) inverter controlling 175 kW induction motors. The AE series can reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h, making it the fastest train in Japan apart from the Shinkansen.
The AE series reached 20 million passengers in September 2016, 25 million in November 2017, and 45 million in October 2023. The period between the 45 millionth and the 50 millionth passenger milestones (June 2024) was only eight months. To celebrate the achievement, Keisei Electric Railway held a commemorative ceremony at Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station. The 50 millionth passenger was a Japanese mother accompanied by her two little daughters.
At present, one of the AE series trainsets, namely AE2, bears a gold-colored commemorative sticker on its front. Congratulations to the Keisei Skyliner for reaching the 50 million-passenger mark!
