JR East Shinkansen EMU E3 Series, "Komachi"

JR East Shinkansen EMU E3 series, "Komachi" at Tokyo Staion

Following my blog on August 15th, I am introducing another "Mini-shinkansen" train today. That is the EMU JR East E3 series, "Komachi" super-express with a maximum speed of 275km/h (see the top photo).

The train name "Komachi" comes from a lady, Ms. Komachi Ono (825 - 900), who was born in Akita Prefecture in the early 9th century. She was a poet and noted as a rare beauty. So, Komachi is a symbol of a beautiful woman in Japan.

As its name indicates, the EMU E3 series Komachi is also beautiful. A sharp and prominent nose, a slightly rounded body-line and pearl colored body with a hot pink stripe are very attractive.

One of the features of the EMU E3 series Komachi operation is coupling with other shinkansen trains. We see that Komachi, which leaves Tokyo, is often coupled with the E2 series Hayate (see the bottom photo). Then, Komachi is detached after arriving at Morioka Station, and runs by itself to Akita, because the route between Morioka and Akita is constructed as a so-called "Mini-shinkansen". It means that standard sized shinkansen trains, such as the E2, E4 and E5 series are unable to enter the mini-shinkansen sections.

The EMU E3 series was launched in 1997, when the Akita Shikansen line was opened. 14 years has already passed so JR East plans to introduce a new generation train, the EMU E6 series, to this route. A prototype train has been completed, and test runs are being made. I will introduce this brand-new technology train someday in the future.

JR East Shinkansen EMU E3 and E2 series (coupled state) at Tokyo Station

More information about JR East Shinkansen "Komachi": http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/akitashinkansen.html

The Longest Suspension Monorail in the World

EMU Chiba Urban Monorail 1000 series near Sakae-cho Station

Further to my July 7th blog, I would like to introduce another monorail in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Chiba City, which is located 40km east of downtown Tokyo, is the capital of Chiba Prefecture. It’s famous for heavy industries, a large port and agriculture. Its population is nearly 1 million. This city has the world’s longest suspension type monorail system... “Chiba Urban Monorail” (see the top photo).

In the suspension monorail system, the carriage is suspended from a fixed track, which is constructed over streets, canals, rivers and so on. Chiba Urban Monorail was partially opened in 1988 between the Sports Center and Chishirodai stations on Line No. 2. Then, it has been extending its lines one after another. Currently, the line length is 15.2km and it’s composed of two lines, Line No.1 and No. 2.

The running of the monorail is frequent in the morning rush hour… every 4 minutes on average. Meanwhile, it runs every 12 to 15 minutes in the daytime. The EMU 1000 series, which was initially launched in 1988, operates as a 2 car train, but sometimes 4 cars in the case of a large event on the line.

One of the spectacular spots on this monorail is the interchange of Line No.1 and No.2 near Sakae-cho Station. A total of 4 tracks are complexly tangled with each other over the street (see the bottom photo). It’s indeed hard work for me to take a picture, because the tracks were located “high in the sky”.

I've got a sore neck.

Junction of lines No.1 and No. 2 near Sakae-cho Station, Chiba Urban Monorail

More information about the trains in Chiba Urban Monorail (in Japanese):

http://www.chiba-monorail.co.jp/4_know/syaryousyoukai.html



The Tokaido Line, Japan's Oldest Railway

20m body x 15 car train of EMU JR East 211 series near Tamachi Station, the Tokaido Line

The Tokaido Line, which connects Tokyo and Kobe (590km), is the oldest railway in Japan. It's opened between Shinbashi, a downtown part of Tokyo and Yokohama, an outport of Tokyo (29km) in 1872. Since then, it was extended bit-by-bit, and eventually in 1889, the line was totally opened.

Even after completing the construction of the railway, the Tokaido Line has been moderninized step-by-step. For instance, the electrification was started in 1925 and completed in 1956. Tanna Tunnel (7.8km) was penetrated under Taga Volcano in 1934 after overcoming many difficulties. The largest epoch was the completion of the Tokaido Shinkansen (special line for bullet trains) as the 2nd line of this main transportation artery in 1964.

After the opening of the Shinkansen, intercity passengers have moved to take this new trunk line. However, the Tokaido Line still plays an important role in commuting, cargo transport and operation of overnight sleeper trains.

I often took the Tokaido Line when I was a child, because one of my relatives lived on the line. It's very exciting for me to see and embark the long colorful formation trains. The body colors were vibrant orange and green, which came from the orange fruit, a speciality product along the line. The train was composed of 15 cars including two green (first class) cars. Even now, these traditions are passed to the new generation trains.
 

JR East "Green Car" (first class), Type SaRo E233-3000 double decker at Tokyo Station

EMU Jomo 700 Series, Reunion with Old Friends

EMU Jomo 715-725F of 700 series (ex-Keio 3000 series) near Fujiyamashita Station

Jomo is a local railway company in the northern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area. The route connects Chuo-maebashi, the capital of Gunma Prefecture and Nishi-kiryu, the city well known for its silk textile industry. The line is 25km long with 23 stations.

It’s a small local railway, but boasts the longest history. The construction of the line started as an idea of a local university student in 1928. Amazingly, the line was opened at the end of the same year, 1928. Since then, the railway has been greatly contributing to local people and industries.

In the meantime, the trains of Jomo Railway, EMU 700 series, are memorable ones for me, because I often rode them in Tokyo when I was a child.

The Jomo 700 series, whose former name Keio 3000 series, were originally manufactured for Keio Electric Railway Company in Tokyo in the 1960s and 1970s. My grandpa, who passed away in 1999, was a railway engineer of Keio and in charge of introducing these trains. I still remember that I visited Eifuku-cho Rail Yard of Keio with my grandpa, and saw the 3000 series there for the first time. It was brand spanking new and the stainless body was shining brilliantly in my eyes.

Since then, I have always had a special fondness for these trains. Even after retirement of some 3000 series trains from Keio, I cannot forget them and sometimes visit Jomo Railway to see them again.

A reunion with Jomo 700 series (ex-Keio 3000 series)… it’s also a reunion with my childhood memories with grandpa.


EMU Jomo 718-728F of 700 series (ex-Keio 3000 series) at Akagi Station

More information about trains in Jomo Electric Railway (in Japanese): http://www15.wind.ne.jp/~joden/700kei/700keisyoukai.html

Win-win Solution by Two Major Companies

EMU Tobu 100 series, "Spacia" arrives at JR East Shinjuku Station

It seems difficult to do railway business in Japan as it's very competitive. Rivals are not only sector peer companies but also airline, bus and express road enterprises.

JR East and Tobu Railways had been long time rivals on the 200km route between downtown Tokyo and Nikko, a World Heritage Site. They had been competing against one other to attract passengers. But, in the early 2000s, the two companies reached a turning point. Due to a recession caused by the "bubble economy burst", they were going to cut each other's throats. Then, JR East and Tobu changed the strategy. The key was to change "from rival to alliance".

The gimmick is as follows.

JR East has a strong network in downtown Tokyo. The lines extend to major terminals such as Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. On the other hand Tobu has a convenient direct access to the Nikko area such as Nikko City and Kinugawa Hot Spring.

The conclusion of the two companies was to create a direct operation through the JR East Line to the Tobu Line. In the downtown Tokyo area, they use the JR East Line to accommodate more passengers in giant terminals, such as Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. Meanwhile, in the Nikko area, the Tobu Line was selected to send passengers directly to the attractive sites, such as Nikko City and Kinugawa Hot Spring.

In March 2006, the two companies commenced the direct operation. As a result, we were enabled to see the Tobu luxury train, EMU 100 series, "Spacia" at JR East's Shinjuku Station. On the other hand, the JR East train, EMU 253-1000 series runs on the Tobu Line in the Nikko area.

A win-win solution was established.

 

EMU JR East 253-1000 series arrives at Ikebukuro Station