News Update

By Anthony Robins

from 'Bullet-in' #53 January - March 2005 edition

Anthony Robins

 New Faces                                             
                    
Tetsudo Fan/Tetsudo Journal

Nankai's new 2300 type for its Soya Line is a two-car unpainted type (MoHa + MoHa). Featuring orange relief (including all the ends), the first three were delivered behind EF65 1139 and are named after flowers, 'sakura' (cherry blossom), 'hanamizuki' (dogwood) and ''shakunage' (rhododendron).

JR West's Kakogawa Line (Kakogawa to Tanikawa in Hyogo Prefecture) switched to an electric service from 19th December. Four new type 125s (9 to 12) are operating the service, the same type as on the Obama Line (1 to 8).

Toyo Rapid Railway's first type 2000 (10-car) virtually matches the design of Tokyo Metro's type 05 (-13) which it interworks with on the Tozai Line.

JR Freight's order for 2005 consists of 15 locomotives. These comprise two EH200s, six EH500s, two EH210s, one EF510 and four DF200s. Together with a hundred type 106 container trucks, the cost is 7.4 billion yen. The locomotives are to replace EF64s, EF65s, ED75s, EF81s and DD51s.

The timetable change on 16th October saw major stock changes, with E231s taking over from older types, particularly 113s, on Tokyo suburban services.

Enhanced green car services with 'green attendant' are provided on 'Shonan Shinjuku Line' services. 'Suica' cards can be used to activate green car reserved seats. Price before boarding is 750 yen (up to 50 kms) or 950 yen (more than 51 kms) or after boarding for 1,000 yen (up to 50 kms) or 1,200 yen (more than 51 kms).

Running-in tests saw super power on workings between Niigata freight terminal and Nagaoka, with triple heading on 3rd August (EF510-2, EF81-9 and EF81-144) and 4th August (EF510-2, EF 81-28 and EF64 1031).

Formed in August was JR West's new 'U@tech' test train. It is a three car set comprising KuMoYa 223-9001 (former MoHa 223-9001), SaYa 213-1 (former SaHa 213-1) and KuYa 212-1 (KuRo 212-1 formerly used for the 'Marine Liner' service across the Seto Bridge). Colour relief is provided mainly by blue vinyls below window level.

Updated

Tetsudo Fan

JR Shikoku's tilting type 8000 is being renewed. First set to appear was three car set S6 (8506 + 8311 + 8206). Blue relief to the unpainted body highlights the unreserved section while it is orange for the reserved section. Widespread use of wood for the interior gives a smart look.

JR West continues its heavy use of refurbished stock, featuring newer type air-conditioning and more modern windows. Now it is 105s on the Wakayama Line, with the first to be refurbished being KuMoHa 105-5 and KuHa 104-8.

Last Gasp

Tetsudo Journal

Before the Gifu tram system closed at the end of March, vehicles were being repainted in photogenic 'revival' liveries. Type 600 car, 606, appeared from Gifu Workshops on 30th September in Meitetsu scarlet livery with white stripe akin to limited expresses. It entered service on 3rd October. Earlier, from 4th September, 593 started running in cream and green livery.

Interim Report

Mainichi Shimbun

Results of the interim report were released on 24th October by the Aircraft and Railways Investigation Commission into the derailment of a bullet train on the Joetsu Shinkansen between Urasa and Nagaoka due to the Niigata Chuetsu earthquake. It found that it travelled 1,637 metres after derailing and that track had been stretched 11 millimetres wider over a 240 metres length. A bridge in Nagaoka had moved 4 cms and the ground around it had fallen, leaving it up to seven centimetres lower than the surrounding area.

Future Developments

Tetsudo Fan

Planned to start from Spring 2006 is a new joint JR East and Tobu service from Shinjuku to Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen (via Ikebukuro and Omiya and joining Tobu at Kurihashi). There are expected to be four return journeys and motive power will be six-car JR East limited express types and Tobu's type 100 'Spacia'.

A Plethora of Uniforms Mainichi Shimbun/Shukan Jitsuwa An unemployed 39 year old, who had once worked as a security guard, stole about 10,000 uniforms or related items over a period of fifteen years. They were found after he was caught trying to steal a couple of pairs of trousers from a JR West dormitory in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture and arrested on 6th September. When police raided his apartment, they found that he only had a couple of square metres to sleep and needed a two-ton truck to remove the uniforms. Although he had a fetish for dressing up in uniforms, apparently he also had that familiar desire to get into railway facilities 'to be able to get a look at trains at close range.'

Shop till you drop!

Asahi Shimbun

9th November saw the opening of Hanshin Electric Railway's new 28 storey commercial building in Nishi-Umeda, Osaka. Including 83 restaurants and ever-popular 'brand' shops like Coach, Gucci and Tiffany, as well as a theatre and concert hall, the company hopes that it will attract 15 million visitors and bolster declining numbers of passengers. Rival Hankyu, whose founder Ichizo Kobayashiis seen as having developed the model of synergy between railway operation, retailing, sports facilities and real estate development, is developing three new facilities, one on the site of the former Nishinomiya Stadium closed in 2002, another north east of Hankyu's Umeda Station and the last on the site of its Takarazuka amusement park closed in April 2003. Nankai's Namba Parks, next to its Namba terminus, completed in October 2003, has attracted 21.22 million visitors. However, the average number of passengers using Namba Station declined 4.5% in the 2003 financial year.

Stood Down

Asahi Shimbun

'News Update' in issue 51 of 'Bullet-In' referred to the arrest of Seibu Railway employees dealing with 'sokaiya' (gangsters practising extortion). As a result, Seibu magnate, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi resigned as chairman of Seibu Railway. He later resigned as chairman of Kokudo Corporation, after it turned out that Seibu Railway had underreported the percentage of its shares owned by Kokudo, an unlisted core company. A later result was the decision of the Tokyo Stock Exchange to delist the company's shares from 17th December, in turn countered by the company planning to list its shares on the Jasdaq over the counter market.