I recently joined another event hosted by the Japan Railfan Club—a test ride of Keio’s new commuter train, the 2000 series EMU. Let me share this memorable experience with you today.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so please take a look at the photo above. Yes—this is the 2000 series EMU. Quite an impressive face, isn’t it? Japanese railfans affectionately call it “Sacabambaspis.” What an elaborate nickname! Sacabambaspis was an extinct jawless fish that lived in the Ordovician period (from about 488 to 445 million years ago), and is closely related to the modern lamprey. As I’ve mentioned several times before, I’m a fossil collector—a paleo-organism enthusiast—but even I never have come up with such a nickname. Keio accepts this one (see the related link). Hats off to the godfather of this nickname.
By the way, the 2000 series features a special space called “Hidamari Space (Sunny Spot)” for wheelchair and pram users in car No. 5. Please take a look at the photo below. This is the Hidamari Space. The windows here are set lower, so even small children can enjoy the passing scenery while sitting in their prams.
This spot is similar to Seibu Railway’s “Partner Zone” on the 40000 series EMU, but Keio’s Hidamari Space is more colorful and much brighter. The locations differ as well. Seibu’s Partner Zone is placed in the first or last car, which is usually less crowded. In contrast, Keio installs Hidamari Space in the middle of the train (Car 5 of a 10-car set), which will naturally be busier. Since there are no seats in this area, I wonder slightly how passengers will feel about this configuration. According to Keio, the location was chosen because many elevators on the Keio Line platforms are placed near the center.
The 2000 series will debut on January 31. I’m running out of space today, so I’ll save the technical specifications of the 2000 series for a future post. Please look forward to it!
