Keisei Skyliner AE Series: Over 60 Million Passengers

EMU Keisei AE series Skyliner displaying a gold-colored commemorative sticker

The 3rd-generation Skyliner operated by Keisei Electric Railway is still going strong. The total number of passengers has recently exceeded 60 million, and I’d like to share this happy news today.

Let’s begin with a brief overview. The Keisei Skyliner is an airport access train connecting central Tokyo with Narita International Airport. The current model, the EMU AE series, entered service in July 2010, replacing the previous AE100 series. The AE series is an EMU for 1,435-millimeter-gauge and 1,500 V DC track. A total of eight trainsets (64 cars in total) were introduced. Each set consists of six motorcars and two trailers (6M2T). The train is equipped with an IGBT–VVVF (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor-variable frequency drive) inverter control system and 175 kW induction motors. With a maximum speed of 160 km/h, it is the fastest train in Japan outside of the Shinkansen network.

The AE series reached 40 million total passengers in October 2022, then 50 million in July 2024 — meaning it took 21 months to carry another 10 million passengers. This time, it reached 60 million in July 2025, just 12 months later — quite an impressive pace!

To celebrate the milestone, Keisei held a commemorative ceremony at Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station. The 60 millionth passenger was a Japanese family returning home from a trip to Vietnam. Currently, one of the AE series trainsets, AE6, is decorated with special stickers on the front and sides to mark the occasion.

Congratulations to the Skyliner on this remarkable achievement!

Side body of the “60 Million Passengers” commemorative Skyliner

Official information (Keisei Skyliner):

https://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/skyliner/index.php

Serving a Double Purpose on the Odakyu Line, Part 2

EMU 1000 (left) and 2000 series (right) running side by side on the Odakyu Line

It’s mid-autumn in Tokyo, and the daytime temperature now hovers around 20 degrees Celsius. The most comfortable season of the year has arrived! I recently visited the Tama River again along the Odakyu Line.

After getting off at Izumi-Tamagawa Station, I headed to the riverbank and focused on searching for fossils—my lifelong passion. Please take a look at the photo below. This was my find of the day: a fossilized Cultellus sp., a large, rectangular marine bivalve. Welcome back to the world above ground after more than a million years of sleep!

Of course, I can’t end without mentioning the railway side of things—this is a railway blog, after all! On my way home, I switched gears to another hobby: trainspotting at Izumi-Tamagawa Station. My theme that day was the “double-double track” (a quadruple track). In 1964, the company planned to expand the double track into a double-double track in the urban area to relieve congestion. Because of the densely built-up surroundings, the project took nearly half a century to complete, finally finishing in 2018.

Today, the inner two tracks are used for limited express and express trains, while the outer two are for semi-express and local trains. Please take a look at the top photo—seeing two trains running side by side like they’re racing is always exciting for rail fans.

That day, I enjoyed both the million-year history of the Earth and the modern engineering of the double-double track in the city. I truly served a “double purpose” that day on the Odakyu Line.

Fossil Cultellus sp. found near Izumi-Tamagawa Station

The 100th Anniversary of the Circular Operation

Set 39 of the JR East EMU E235 series, designed like the EMU 103 series

Are there any loop lines in your country? In Japan, there are a few. For example, the Osaka Loop Line is a well-known circular line in the western part of the country. The Meijo Line in Nagoya is the only subway loop line with continuous circular operation, and the Disney Resort Line in Chiba Prefecture is the only monorail loop line in Japan.

Thank you for waiting. Here comes the headliner! Japan’s most famous loop line is none other than JR East’s Yamanote Line. It loops through several central areas of Tokyo. The line is double-tracked, and each train keeps running in the same direction throughout the day—either clockwise or counterclockwise.

On November 1st, 2025, JR East will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Yamanote Line’s circular operation. The line originally opened as part of the Nippon Railway’s Shinagawa Line and was gradually extended. In 1925, it was finally connected into a loop, and circular operation began under the Japanese Government Railways.

To commemorate this remarkable milestone, JR East is operating special trains using Sets 39 and 44 of the EMU E235 series. Set 39 features the nostalgic face of the former EMU 103 series, which ran on the line between 1963 and 1988, while Set 44 is designed in the style of the EMU 205 series, which was in service from 1985 to 2005.

Recently, I’ve often seen many railway fans gathering along the Yamanote Line to celebrate this special event. Of course, I’m one of them too.

Happy 100th anniversary of circular operation to the Yamanote Line!

Set 44 of the JR East EMU E235 series, designed like the EMU 205 series

Official video, "the 100th anniversary of the Yamanote Line's circular operation", by JR East:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuhCtUo74jQ

Official information, "the 100th anniversary of the Yamanote Line's circular operation", by JR East (in Japanese):

https://www.jreast.co.jp/tokyomovinground/exhibition/yamaf,es/

EMU 71-000 Series: A New Model on the Rinkai Line

The EMU TWR 71-000 series running on JR East’s Saikyo Line

I’m happy to introduce a new train that appeared in the Tokyo area this autumn — the EMU 71-000 series on the Rinkai Line. It’s been about three months since I last shared a new train here.

First of all, please take a look at the photo above. This is the Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (TWR) 71-000 series, which made its debut on October 1st. This new DC commuter train was developed to replace the older 70-000 series. Technically, it’s almost the same as JR East’s E233-7000 series, which also runs on the Rinkai Line.

Its front design is said to express a gentle smile, and the blue stripe along the body represents the Tokyo Bay waterfront. I think it looks very nice and friendly.

At the moment, two trainsets are in service, and TWR plans to add six more by the middle of fiscal year 2027. The 70-000 series, which has been in service for many years, will be retired by the end of that same year.

By the way, TWR is a semi-public company established in 1991. The Rinkai Line has been in operation since 1996, running through the central part of the Tokyo Bay area. The 12.2-kilometer route is mostly underground, passing beneath reclaimed islands and connecting them with several undersea tunnels. Trains on the Rinkai Line also run through onto JR East’s Saikyo Line and other lines.

If you have a moment, please check the link below for the official video and information (in Japanese) about this new EMU 71-000 series.

Car 71-201 of Set z12, EMU TWR 71-000 series

Official video and information by TWR (in Japanese):

https://www.twr.co.jp/71000/tabid/382/Default.aspx

The Subway Above the JR East Line

Yotsuya Station: The “subway” Marunouchi Line (left) and the JR East Line (right)

As I mentioned before, Yotsuya, located in central Tokyo, is a complicated station shared by the JR East Chuo Line and the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. For example, JR East’s Yotsuya Station is situated in a valley, with a railway tunnel located just beside it. On the other hand, although the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line is a “subway,” its Yotsuya Station is on an elevated track rather than underground. It’s quite confusing—so how are these two stations positioned relative to each other?

I recently captured a photo that clearly explains the mystery. In the top image, you can see a Tokyo Metro Series 2000 EMU on the left and a JR East Series E231 EMU on the right. Notice how the 2000 series rides above the E231 series—literally placing the “subway” above the JR East Line. This curious structure has a fascinating backstory.

The history begins in 1894, when the Kobu Railway (now JR East) built Yotsuya Station in the bottom of a valley. Over half a century later, in the 1950s, Eidan (now Tokyo Metro) began planning the Marunouchi Line as part of Tokyo’s growing subway network. They faced a major challenge: the line was too deep to tunnel beneath the Chuo Line. The solution was unexpected—the Marunouchi Line would be built as an elevated track directly above the Chuo Line, creating this unusual vertical layout.

Today, Yotsuya Station remains a rare example of Tokyo’s intricate railway history—a place where “subway” really means above rather than below.

To close, here’s one more photo showing the Marunouchi Line track as it emerges from a tunnel and approaches its elevated Yotsuya Station. This is a unique feature in Tokyo—a singularity in a city of wonders.

Marunouchi Line track approaching Yotsuya Station