Do you remember when I introduced you to Kenty Skyliner last year? It was a special poster train on the Keisei line. A year has passed since then and Keisei Electric Railway recently launched the 2nd generation Kenty Skyliner. I’m going to show you this new poster train today.
Let me quickly review “Kenty” to start. Nakajima Kento, alias Kenty, is a popular Japanese singer and actor. Keisei has been using Kenty for their advertising campaigns since 2019. For example, Kenty acted as "the Prince of Keisei", and promoted the Narita Airport access train “Skyliner” on the TV commercials. Keisei, then, started to operate a special poster train, "Kenty Skyliner", in 2021. Large posters of Kenty, who is dressed as the Prince of Keisei, were displayed on the side bodies. It meant that Kenty, the prince of Keisei, escorted passengers, who were in the likeness of princesses.
Fast-forward to November, 2024, the 2nd generation Kenty Skyliner debuted. This train displays large posters of Kenty on the side bodies just like the 1st generation Kenty Skyliner, but Kenty doesn’t play the prince of Keisei anymore. He looks more matured and natural.
Incidentally, the 2nd generation Kenty Skyliner is trainset AE4 of the EMU Keisei AE series. The AE series is an 8-car train with crow-shaped black faces. Its maximum speed is 160 kilometers per hour, which is the fastest in Japan except the Shinkansen vehicles. The AE series won the 2011 Blue Ribbon Prize by Japan Railfan Club as the best train that debuted in 2010.
