On August 24th, Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Tsukuba Express line (hereafter TX line). In commemoration, the company is holding many events.
Let me review the TX line to start. It’s a 58.3-kilometer-long route connecting Akihabara and Tsukuba. Akihabara is located downtown Tokyo and known as “Otaku” town. Otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming anime, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. In contrast, Tsukuba is the science city of the metropolitan area. A number of national and private research institutes are located there. The TX line was opened in 2005 and plays a role of the “2nd Joban line”. The track is double and electrified.
One of the 20th anniversary events is special memorial plates on the front of the trains. Please look at the photos. They are set number 2651 and 2667 of the EMU TX-2000 series. It’s a DC-AC (direct current and alternate current) dual electric system train, because the electric system of the TX line is partly 1,500V DC (Akihabara-Moriya) and partly 20,000V-50Hz AC (Moriya-Tsukuba). Its maximum speed is 130 kilometers per hour. Set number 2651, which is the 1st batch trains debuted in 2005, doesn’t have a red stripe on the front. On the other hand, set number 2667, which is the 2nd batch trains debuted in 2008, has a red stripe on the front. Please enjoy the subtle differences in each train. I know that you are an enthusiastic trainspotter like me. Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of the TX line!
