200 Posts and 200 Series

K47 set of the EMU JR East 200 series stands at Tokyo Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen

Thank you for your visit to Tokyo Railway Labyrinth. The number of my blog posts exceeded 200 last week. In the last year and a half, I have made many friends through this blog. They are mostly rail-fans as well as travelers of Japan. I hope that people all over the world will continue to enjoy my blog.

Well, in commemoration of the "200th" post in the blog, I am going to show the EMU "200" series train. Is it a bit of a stretch? As I mentioned in my blog on December 24th, 2011, the JR East 200 series is the EMU on the Joetsu Shinkansen. Connecting Tokyo and Niigata, the largest city on the Japan Sea, the Joetsu Shinkansen was fully opened in 1991 after challenging engineering work such as construction of the long Dai-Shimizu Tunnel (22.2km) in the Kanto Mountains. The total operating length is 269.5km. Currently, the maximum speed of the train is 240km per hour.

Among the 7 sets of remaining 200 series trains, K47 set is special as it maintains the original "Shinkansen Color". Look at the photo. It is beautifully two-toned in green and cream. This coloring started when the Tokaido Shinkansen was opened between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in 1964 (see my blog on January 2nd). For most of half a century, the original colored Shinkansen trains have been disappearing due to scrapping and renovation. Therefore, this K47 set is the last of original colored Shinkansen trains.

Everything flows, nothing stands still (by Heraclitus?).

Side view of unit number JR East 222-1510, K47 set, EMU 200 series

Over the Century, Completion of Renovation Work

Northern half of the Marunouchi Entrance Building, Tokyo Station

On October 1st, JR East completed the renovation work on the main building of Tokyo Station. The red brick masonry of the Marunouchi Entrance Building has been brought back (see the top photo).

As I mentioned in my blog on February 27th, the Marunouchi Entrance Building was opened in 1914 as a main building of the central station in the Tokyo Metropolis. Since it had aged, the renovation work was started in 2007. In addition to the railway operation facilities being renovated, a gallery, hotel and underground car parking have been constructed inside. It is said that the total construction cost was 50 billion yen (625 million US dollars).

One of the topics of this renovation work is that the Marunouchi Entrance Building has been restored to be the same as it was when it opened. This building was severely destroyed by an air strike in 1945. It was repaired after WWII, but the design of the roofs were changed, because it was a stop-gap measure.

The newly restored roofs are composed of three elegant domes, which have oriental zodiac animal reliefs inside. Since opening of the new building, many people have been flocking to Tokyo Station (see the following photo) to take pictures in the domes, visit a cafe in the station hotel and so on. I especially saw many old people, who want to see the change of the station for themselves.

Over the century, Tokyo Station has changed from a terminal station to a sightseeing spot.

Interior of the Marunouchi-south Entrance, the Marunouchi Entrance Building, Tokyo Station

Spider Lily Field on the Tobu Line

EMU Tobu 20000 series arrives at Tobu-Dobutsukoen Station

The season of spider lily (see my blog on September 26th, 2011) came again. I visited another spider lily field last month. My destination this year was Satte City, some 50km north of downtown Tokyo.

Satte, with a population about 54,000, is a small city in the eastern part of Saitama Prefecture. It has been growing as a post town of the Nikko Kaido (an old main road to Nikko) since the 14th century. Currently, it functions as a residential area for the people who commute to downtown Tokyo, Saitama City and so on.

A famous spider lily field is located on a bank, which is named Gongendou-tsutsumi, along Naka River. Local people have been working on planting spider lilies on the embankments to prevent slope failure and protect the environment. I like red colored spider lily flower very much as it's a signal of the coming of autumn after a severely hot summer.

To get to this gorgeous field, the Tobu-Nikko Line is convenient. I took the subway, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line from downtown Tokyo, because trains on the Hibiya Line are directly operated into the Tobu Line. My vehicle was an EMU Tobu 20000 series.

The 20000 series trains were launched in 1988 to replace the old EMU 2000 series. A total of 13 sets, 104 units, have been manufactured by Tokyu-sharyo and Alna-sharyo. I like this train with its large front window. The russet brown colored stripe on the stainless steel body is also very elegant.

Spider lily field near Satte Station on the Tobu-Nikko Line

Linear Motor-driven Subway in Yokohama City

EMU Yokohama Municipal Subway 10000 series arrives at Center-Minami Station

The Green Line is the newest subway in Yokohama City, some 20km southwest of Tokyo. It was opened in 2008. Connecting Nakayama on the JR East Yokohama Line and Hiyoshi on the Tokyu Toyoko Line, the operating length is 13.1km.

Just like the Toei Ooedo Line (see my blog on November 23rd, 2011), linear motor technology is adopted for the train driving system on this new subway line. A linear motor is an electric motor that doesn't have a shaft. It moves in a straight line, while a conventional motor has a rotary movement. You can see a special box, a "reaction plate," between the rails (see the top photo). This technology allowed downsizing of the tunnel section.

The EMU 10000 series is a main fleet of the Green Line. They are short (15.6m) and small sized 4-car trains. A total of 16 sets have been manufactured and operated. The small pantograph on the roof is very cute, but the front face of the train is not my favorite, because it is like a combat robot in science fiction movies.

Yokohama City Transportation Bureau plans to extend the Green Line both eastward and westward. To the east, it will be extended to Tsurumi on the JR East Keihin-Tohoku Line. Meanwhile, to the west, it will reach Negishi on the JR East Negishi Line via Kami-Ooka on the Keikyu Line in the future. Once it is completed, the Green Line will be a circler line surrounding the downtown of Yokohama City.
 

Platform of Center-Minami Station on the Green Line, Yokohama Municiple Subway

EMU Type 0, New Model on the Chiba Urban Monorail

EMU Chiba Urban Monorail Type 0 arrives at Yoshikawa-koen (Yoshikawa Park) Station

Recently I visited Chiba City after a long absence. Among the many news items on railways in the city, the biggest one was the new model on the Chiba Urban Monorail: the Type 0 (see the top photo).

As I mentioned in my blog on October 25th 2011, Chiba City, which is located 40km east of downtown Tokyo, is the capital of Chiba Prefecture. This city has the world's longest suspension type monorail system: Chiba Urban Monorail.

Chiba Urban Monorail was partially opened in 1988 between the Sports Center and Chishirodai stations. Currently, the total line length is 15.2km. The EMU 1000 series, which was initially launched in 1988, has been operating as a 2 car train since then.

The new model, Type 0, was launched this July. It is also a 2 car train, and 3 sets have been manufactured so far. It was given the nickname Urban Flyer. The sky blue colored body with black face is urbanized and futuristic. Advanced technologies such as VVVF inverter control (variable-frequency drive) with regenerative braking system are applied.

One of the interesting features of this train is a floor window in the cockpit. It is equipped for passengers to view below the vehicle. It means that passengers can enjoy the feeling of floating in the air. That's why the nickname of the train is Urban Flyer.

Needless to say, I also enjoyed the flying experience in Chiba City as a birdman.

Interior of the EMU Chiba Urban Monorail Type 0