EMU 634 Series: Tobu Sky Tree Train

EMU Tobu 634 series, Sky Tree Train, passes through Himemiya Station

Tobu is one of the major railway companies in Tokyo. They have the largest private railway network in the Tokyo metropolitan area. This company is also known for diversifying their business. The current largest news was the grand opening of Tokyo Sky Tree, the 634 meter-high world's tallest broadcasting tower in front of their Tokyo Sky Tree (ex-Narihira-bashi) Station in 2012.

In October of the same year, Tobu launched a sightseeing train, called Sky Tree Train, the EMU 634 series, to promote tourism to their Tokyo Sky Tree from regions along the Tobu lines. Needless to say, the 634 series was named after the height of the Tokyo Sky Tree (634 meters).

The 634 series was modified from the existing 6050 series by J-TREC Yokohama Factory. It is operated as a 4-car train consisting of two sets of 2-car trains (1M1T). The former unit numbers were MoHa 6177, KuHa 6277, MoHa 6178 and KuHa 6278; meanwhile, new numbers are MoHa 634-11, KuHa 634-12, MoHa 634-21 and KuHa 634-22. They are all high decker-cars to secure wide views, and have special seats such as "salon seats" and "pair seats".

The salon seat is like a living room set; meanwhile, the pair seat is a love seat facing the windows. The train windows of the 634 series are also special, as they are expanded to the ceiling. It means that passengers can enjoy the full view of the gangly Tokyo Sky Tree through the windows.
 

EMU Tobu 634 series, Sky Tree Train, travels on the Nikko Line

 

Official information about Tobu Sky Tree Train (in Japanese):

http://railway.tobu.co.jp/special_express/skytree_train/

Twilight Journey to Bromley

EMU Class 466+465, "Networker", stands at Bromley South Station on the Southeast Line

This is continued from my blog on February 15th. After finishing my meeting in Central London, I headed to Bromley, a southeastern suburb of London City, to meet with a British rail fan. To get to Bromley, the Southeastern Line was convenient from Victoria Terminal.

My vehicle was a commuter train, the EMU Class 465+466, called "Networker". The Class 465 was launched in 1991 to replace an old model, Class 415. It is a 4-car train, while the Class 466 is a 2-car train, which debuted in 1993. Both Classes 465 and 466 are for a 1,435 mm gauge track with a 750 V DC (a third rail) electric system. The maximum speed is 120 km/hour. So far, a total of 147 sets (588 carriages) of the Class 465 and 43 sets (86 carriages) of the Class 466, have been built by BREL, ABB and GEC Alsthom.

My train, "Networker", was bound for Orpington being composed of Classes 465 (4 cars) and 466 (2 cars). It was crowded because of the evening rush hour. I saw many businessmen and businesswomen boarding. They were looking at their cellular phones, listening to music, reading books or just relaxing. Different from the commuter trains in Tokyo, there were not many people who were napping. "Networker" travelled slowly in the downtown area, but it increased speed after leaving Herne Hill. My twilight journey went by at lighting speed.

Side view of the Class 465

Inauguration of the Tozai Line in Sendai City

EMU Sendai Municipal Subway 2000 series passes over Hirose River on the Tozai Line

On December 14th, 2015, the second subway line was opened in Sendai City.

Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku District, about 350 km north of Tokyo. The first subway route, namely Namboku Line, was partially opened between Yaotome and Tomisawa in 1987. The whole route was fully opened between Izumi-chuo and Tomisawa (14.8 km) in 1992.

Transportation Bureau of Sendai City then commenced construction of the second route, namely Tozai Line, in 2007. Connecting Yagiyama Zoological Park and Arai, the route length is 13.9 km. The gauge size is 1,435 mm and the electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. Linear motor technology is adopted for the train driving system. Same as the Green Line of Yokohama Municipal Subway and the Ooedo Line of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, you can see a reaction plate between the two rails.

The train, being operated on the Tozai Line, is the EMU 2000 series. It is a 4-car train with two motor cars. So far, a total of 15 sets, 60 units, have been built by Kinki Sharyo. Automatic train operation system is adopted, so a train crew just pushes a button when the train leaves a station. The train runs without a conductor on board, as the Tozai Line has fewer passengers than that of the busy commuter lines in Tokyo. The design of the train is quite unique. Its face is in imitation of the warrior's helmet of Date family, which was a feudal load in the Sendai area. Cool!

In the meantime, I have linked to "Tokyo in N Scale", which is a blog following the progress of an N Scale module based on a small part of a large city, namely Tokyo.
 

Memorial sticker for inauguration of the Tozai Line, Sendai Municipal Subway

Official information about the Tozai Line of Sendai Municipal Subway (in Japanese):

http://www.kotsu.city.sendai.jp/touzaisen/pdf/kinenpanfu.pdf

Official information about Sendai Municipal Subway (in English):

http://www.kotsu.city.sendai.jp/english/subway/index.html

2016 Shinjuku "Minamillumi"

EMU JR East E257 series, limited express "Azusa", stands at Shinjuku Station

Winter illumination season is coming to an end. Winter is known as the season of "street illuminations" in Japan. Urban streets are nicely decorated with millions of LED lights. I don't know exactly what the origin of this event was, but it can be traced to the Christmas lights to attract customers to shopping malls.

I visited the Southern Terrace of Shinjuku Station, where an illumination event was being held. I saw many couples and families, who were sewing in the woods of lights, called "Minamillumi". Minamillumi is a compound word of minami (south) in Japanese and illumination in English. There is a flood of English words in our everyday language in this country.

In the meantime, we can see frequently arriving and departing trains at JR East Shinjuku Station. Limited express, Azusa, is one of the representative trains departing from this busy terminal. Connecting Shinjuku and Matsumoto, it travels in the steep backbone mountains of Japan.

Along with the E351 series (Super-Azusa), the E257 series (Azusa) is famous among travelers to Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures. It was launched in 2001 to replace the old EMU, 183 and 189 series. A total of 21 sets, 154 units, have been built by Hitachi, Kinki Sharyo, and Tokyu Sharyo. Different from the E351, the E257 series doesn't have a tilting system to pass through tight curves in mountain ranges at high speed, but the center of gravity on the body of the 257 is low to mitigate centrifugal forces.

Night view of the Southern Terrace (Minamillumi) in front of Shinjuku Station

New Model on the Ooyama Cable Line

Unit number 2 of Ooyama Sightseeing Electric Railway arrives at Ooyamadera Station

The Ooyama Cable Line is a funicular route in Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, about 60 km southwest of Tokyo. The route was originally opened in 1931, but suspended in 1944 due to WWII. The operation was resumed in 1965 by newly established Ooyama Sightseeing Electric Railway Company, using the second generation vehicles called Tanzawa and Ooyama.

On October 1st last year, the third generation model, namely unit number 1 and 2, was launched. It was designed by Okabe Noriaki, who also designed the electric car 3000 series, "Allegra", for the Hakone Tozan Railway in 2014. The green colored bodies with gold and silver colored stripes are vivid and glorious. In timing with introducing the new model, the overhead wire on the track was removed, because it had been interrupting passengers' views. Instead of the wire, a lithium-ion battery is installed on each vehicle for supplying the electricity of indoor lights and in-car announcement apparatus. For your information, the vehicles still have pantographs for charging while standing at stations through rigid body overhead lines, which are installed only at the stations.

Connecting Ooyama Cable and Afuri Shrine stations, the route length of the Ooyama Cable Line is 0.8 km. There is one intermediate station, Ooyamadera, at the mid-point of the line. The height difference between the highest and lowest points of the route is 278 m. The maximum inclination of the route is 25.5 degrees. The track gauge size is 1,067 mm.

Unit number 2 (mountain side)

Official information about Ooyama Cable Line (in Japanese):

http://www.ooyama-cable.co.jp/company.html