The steepest railway in Japan and autumn leaves

Unlike other past articles, this is a part of my diary though related to Japanese railways.

Yesterday, I went with a friend of mine to Mt Takao in Tokyo, roughly 30 miles west of Shinjuku station. Takao station is known for de facto terminal for Chuo Line (Rapid) commuter trains, but the mountain is a mile west of the station. Takaosanguchi station on Keio Takao line is the closest to the entrance of the mountain.

Mt Takao is best known for magnificent views in autumn, particularly tree leaves turning red. There is a funicular called Takaosan Cable Car, which starts from a station near Takaosanguchi. Trees have already been red, but this area is not high and cold enough so that the autumn foliage does not look impressive.

The funicular is the steepest railway in Japan with a 608 ‰ (60.8% or 1 in 1.645) slope. The line is just 0.63 miles long but climbs 889 ft. As the train climbs, the slope gets steeper. The train takes just six minutes but it was tough.

There are usually four trains per hour but they run every 10 minutes during busy period. Even so, I had to wait in a queue for 30-40 minutes. There were aerial lifts called Echo Lift near the funicular but the queue was even longer.

The other funicular station is just the halfway to the peak of the mountain. There are a small museum, botanical garden and a monkey zoo, temples and shrines, but the best place for the autumn leaves is further away, which takes an hour on foot.

Most tourists stop at the peak and turn back, but there is a great place called Momijidai that is about 10 minutes more.

There are several walking trails that go further, but they are not recommended to those who just plan to visit the mountain with T-shirt and sandals during a day-trip. Otherwise, you may eventually end up in a rescue helicopter.

Takaosanguchi station is less than an hour from Shinjuku station by Keio line trains. The funicular is crowded during the high season, and we were told to wait for 70-90 minutes on the way home (4 pm on Friday) so that we gave up getting on a train and walked down the mountain, taking roughly 30 minutes. The queue must be even longer on Saturdays and Sundays.

Farewell, Airport Express

On Saturday 25 November, annual timetable revision will be taken place on the entire Keikyu network. On this day, all Airport Express services will be renamed simply as Express. This article focuses on Airport Express on the southern part of Keikyu Main Line (i.e. to and from Zushi).

Keikyu introduced Airport Express when it dramatically revised its timetables on 16 May 2010. To meet demand for services between Haneda Airport and Yokohama, the company decided to provide a new service on the southern part of Keikyu Main Line. There had been Express services in the area until 1999, but they were completely different from Airport Express.

At first, Airport Express ran every 20 minutes, most of which were formed of eight coaches and connecting Haneda Airport and Shin-Zushi (now Zushi Hayama) stations. Railway enthusiasts welcomed the timetable revision as 2000 series returned to daytime services for the first time since 2002. Some people using small stations were dissatisfied with Airport Express as the number of stopping services was halved.

As Haneda Airport International Terminal station (now Terminal 3 station) opened in 2012 and ridership increased, Airport Express was doubled to every 10 minutes. There have been some six-car trains since then. The Airport Express was heavily used not only by businesspeople and tourists but also local residents such as those going to school or for shopping.

Literally all types of rolling stock have been used for Airport Express except one. 800 series could not enter Keikyu Airport Line as it was not compatible with platform edge doors at Haneda Airport International Terminal station. Hence, 800 series was used only between Kanagawa-Shimmachi and Shin-Zushi in case of severe service disruption and when there was absolutely no other option.

Airport Express suddenly suffered from low ridership in the 2020s. Just like all other businesses across the country and the world, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic was immense. As international travels to and from Japan had been restricted for two years, the ridership drastically dropped.

Furthermore, staff shortages triggered by poor working conditions amid inflation struck Airport Express: significant reduction of services was carried out last year and Airport Express became every 20 minutes again. Since many services have been consisted of six coaches, the capacity is smaller than back in 2010.

Then, the 13-year history of Airport Express ends on 24 November, a day before the timetable revision. After that day, Express services calling at the same stations will run, a few of which do not start from or terminate at Haneda Airport (that is why the company decided to remove the word Airport). The frequency remains unchanged (every 20 minutes) but it will surely be changed along with other services soon as Keikyu lacks will or capability to deal with pay rises and reduce overworking of station staff and train crews.

50 years on: a comparison (part 7)...Nagoya, Kansai and Fukuoka

As shown in the previous article, Japanese National Railways had provided long-distance trains calling at every station, but the number of stopping services per se was far fewer than today. Even in Tokyo, suburban trains like Tokaido and Tohoku Main Lines ran once or twice every hour in the afternoon. In other major cities, things had been worse than that.

Nagoya area

Nagoya has been the largest station in the area since the late-19th century, and Tokaido Main, Chuo Main and Kansai Main Lines have been serving the station. The first table shows westbound suburban trains on Tokaido Main Line departing Nagoya station between 9-11 am. All trains in 1973 and fast services in 2023 are for Ogaki, while Local trains in 2023 terminate at Gifu.

1973	2023
	9:07 Special Rapid
	9:09 Local
	9:18 Special Rapid
	9:23 Local
9:30 Local	9:29 New Rapid
	9:36 Rapid
	9:41 Local
	9:45 Special Rapid
	9:50 Local
9:57 Rapid	10:00 New Rapid
	10:05 Local
	10:15 New Rapid
	10:20 Local
	10:35 Rapid
10:35 Local	10:35 Local
	10:45 New Rapid
	10:50 Local

Here is another table showing eastbound Tokaido Main Line trains leaving Nagoya during evening rush hours, specifically between 5-7 pm. L means Local, N means New Rapid, R means Rapid and SR means Special Rapid.

1973	2023
	17:01 NR: Toyohashi
17:08 L: Hamamatsu	17:03 L: Toyohashi
	17:16 SR: Toyohashi
	17:18 L: Okazaki
	17:31 SR: Toyohashi
	17:33 L: Toyohashi
17:40 R: Shizuoka	17:46 SR: Toyohashi
17:48 L: Hamamatsu	17:48 L: Okazaki
	18:00 NR: Toyohashi
	18:02 L: Toyohashi
	18:10 NR: Toyohashi
18:15 L: Toyohashi	18:17 L: Okazaki
	18:20 SR: Toyohashi
	18:30 NR: Toyohashi
	18:33 L: Hamamatsu
18:40 R: Hamamatsu	18:40 SR: Toyohashi
	18:47 L: Okazaki
	18:50 SR: Toyohashi

It was clear that JNR was not interested in commuters and students going to or back from their workplace or school. That is why, most people used Meitetsu that provided far more convenient services at that time. Tokaido Main Line eastbound services were even more useless at daytime with only a Local train per hour.

Chuo Main Line services were slightly better, with two trains departed Nagoya station at the daytime with four trains between 6-7 pm. Today, there are eight trains per hour at the daytime and more during rush hours.

Kansai Main Line was frankly awful, with only 13 trains a day in 1973. It is worth noting that two of them ran from Nagoya to Minatomachi (now JR Namba) and one from Nagoya to Tennoji via Kisei Main Line. Even so, it did not mean that the line was useful. Hence, most local residents must have relied on Kintetsu. Today, there are four trains per hour on Kansai Main Line at off-peak times.

Osaka area

JNR services in Osaka had been infamous for being inconvenient, but to be fair, JNR was not necessarily reluctant to compete with private railways. Special Rapid was introduced in 1970 with just six services per day, but there were four services per hour in 1973. There were also four rapid trains between Kusatsu and Nishi-Akashi (including Kyoto, Osaka and Sannomiya stations). Local trains ran every 15-30 minutes, half the number of what we see today.

However, other suburban trains were totally different at that time. The notable example is San-in Main Line, which is now also called Sagano Line. There are four trains per hour between Kyoto and Kameoka at off-peak times and up to seven during rush hours, but there were only 21 trains a day in 1973.

5:20	Hamada
6:43	Tsuruga (via Ayabe)
7:50	Ayabe
8:27	Sonobe
9:06	Izumoshi
10:27	Sonobe
11:12	Fukuchiyama
12:30	Fukuchiyama
15:11	Goma
15:53	Fukuchiyama
16:57	Sonobe
17:19	Fukuchiyama
17:39	Sonobe
18:14	Fukuchiyama
18:53	Sonobe
19:27	Ayabe
20:28	Ayabe
21:04	Sonobe
21:42	Fukuchiyama
22:04	Izumoshi*
22:55	Sonobe

The ridership of San-in Main Line was far smaller in 1973 than today as there were not so many houses. The line might not have been an option for tourists visiting Saga and Arashiyama area. Most trains were loco-hauled so that they were slower than trains of today. Interestingly, four out of 21 trains were long-distance (running more than three hours), and the 22:04 service had a sleeper coach. This train arrived Izumoshi at 9:31 on the following day.

The line was electrified in 1990 with a dramatic track improvement project finally completed in 2010. The modernisation programme made it far easier for local residents to go to Kyoto so that houses and blocks of flats were built near stations.

Fukuoka area

At Hakata in 1973, southbound suburban trains on Kagoshima Main Line included services to Amagase, Hita (both via Kyudai Main Line) and Yatsushiro, but ran every 60-90 minutes at the daytime and up to just three trains per hour at peak times (excluding Minami-Fukuoka services). Today, there are 5-6 trains per hour.

Northbound trains towards Kokura and Mojiko ran twice or three times per hour at daytime, while there are five today. Interestingly, there were Special Rapid services between Hakata and Kokura, calling only at Kurosaki and Tobata. The Special Rapid left Hakata 10 past every hour (9:10 – 19:10) and the fastest one took just 54 minutes from Hakata to Kokura. Today, the fastest train takes more than an hour so that busy businesspeople have to choose San-yo Shinkansen.

How about Sasaguri Line? Today, it is also known today as Fukuhoku-yutaka Line and there are 3-6 trains per hour, all of which start from or terminate at Hakata. However, it was hourly service in 1973 including rush hours, and only seven out of 19 trains a day ran between Yoshizuka and Hakata.

One of the most interesting railway in Fukuoka was Katsuta Line, a 13.8 km (8.6 miles) long rural railway between Yoshizuka and Chikuzen-Katsuta, with five stations in between.
(Yoshizuka, Mitarai, Kami-Kameyama, Shime, Shimoumi, Umi, Chikuzen-Katsuta)

It was opened in 1918 for freight trains transporting coal, but all coalfields in the area have been closed by 1964. In spite of proximity to the city centre of Fukuoka as well as construction of housing estates, JNR had never interested in passenger trains on Katsuta Line. In 1973, Yoshizuka station timetable was as follows.

5:54	for Chikuzen-Katsuta
7:17	for Shime*
8:12	for Chikuzen-Katsuta
12:59	for Chikuzen-Katsuta
14:15	for Chikuzen-Katsuta**
16:29	for Chikuzen-Katsuta
18:57	for Chikuzen-Katsuta
20:29	for Chikuzen-Katsuta

*Weekdays & Saturdays only. **Weekends & holidays only.

Local residents have been dependant on buses so that they accepted a permanent closure of the Line, which eventually took place in 1985. Had JNR provided more services or had it been succeeded by JR Kyushu, Katsuta Line would have dramatically been transformed to a major commuter rail in the city.

The Red List of Trains in Japan (Oct-2023 update)

The Red List of Trains in Japan has been updated with six new articles, namely:

• JNR 50 series
• JR West 207 series
• JR West 321 series
• JR East GV-E400 series
• JGR Class 8620
• Tobu N100 series SPACIA X

Moreover, some new articles have been up to date, such as 211 series in Nagoya and Tokyu 9000 series in Tokyo.

Second-hand Trains

Introduction

On 26 September, Seibu revealed its detailed plan to purchase and introduce second-hand trains to its branch lines. It is uncommon if not unprecedented for a major railway company to reintroduce used trains of other railway operators. What we know so far?

Background

Seibu has been known for having many environmentally unfriendly trains. A quarter of its fleets are outdated while other major private railways in the Greater Tokyo Area has mostly completed replacing old-fashioned ones. Seibu has been introducing 40000 series since 2016, but the company estimated that the replacement would not finish until 2036 at the current pace.

Therefore, Seibu concluded that reintroducing second-hand but energy-saving trains would contribute to achieve its sustainability goals by 2030, six years earlier than the initial plan. The first official announcement regarding the reintroduction was made in December 2022, and there had been various speculation about possible rolling stock since then.

Which trains to be replaced with?

101 series, 2000 series and 4000 series trains. Remaining units were built in the 1980s or early-90s, though not a few components of the 4000 series were reused from trains developed in the late-60s. The 101 series is used for Sayama and Tamagawa Lines, and the 4000 series runs Chichibu Line. The 2000 series is still widely used across the network including Ikebukuro and Shinjuku Lines. There are approximately 300 carriages in total.

There is one more train type with eco-unfriendly features called 10000 series New Red Arrow, but Seibu has not referred to its fate at all.

What trains replace them?

Odakyu 8000 series and Tokyu 9000 series trains (including Tokyu 9020 series). They are commuter trains built in the 1980s and early-90s, just as old as the Seibu trains in question. NHK reported that Seibu plans to introduce 40 and 60 carriages respectively. The Odakyu 8000 series will be for Kokubunji Line and the Tokyu 9000 series will be for Chichibu, Sayama, Tamagawa and Tamako Lines. Each unit of the 9000 series is formed of five coaches at the moment but it will be shortened to four.

According to the official document, the 8000 series will enter service in 2024 while the 9000 series will be in "2025 or after that". Many of them are likely to be compatible with driver-only operation.

Is it really a sensible idea?

Seibu had been looking for eco-friendly trains with stainless-steel bodies. Odakyu 8000 series has been its traction and motors refurbished with new ones in 2003-13, but its body is made of ordinary carbon-steel. In other words, it does not meet one of two requirements. Hence, it is not certain whether the body is durable enough for the next 10-20 years.

Tokyu 9000 series meets with both criteria though Tokyu has not classified it as environmentally friendly in the last ten years. It will run Chichibu Line which has many steep slopes and tight curves so that there should be enhanced braking systems to deal with them.

Even so, Seibu estimates that 5,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be reduced a year, as the second-hand trains require 50% less energy than the old trains. Needless to say, it financially help the company as well.

Wasn't there other choices?

Speculation by railway enthusiasts included JR 209 series and Tokyo Waterfront Railway 70-000 series since not a few carriages are due to be withdrawn by 2030 and they meet the two elements on Seibu's wishlist. However, the 209 series has been notorious for not being sturdy enough as JR East designed it to have half the lifespan of other trains. The 70-000 series is based on the 209 series. Probably that is why Seibu decided not to purchase them.

Are there any examples of second-hand trains?

Small private railways often use second-hand trains, but it is rare to see major railway companies purchase used trains. One of the most well-known case in Japan is Meitetsu 3880 series, which was originally Tokyu 3700 series. Introduced to Toyoko Line in 1948, the 3700 series was used by Tokyu until 1980. Meitetsu purchased all them in 1975 and 1980 to deal with skyrocketing demand. The 3880 series was mainly used on Inuyama and Kakamigahara Lines until 1985.

Since the 21st century began, there were two such cases. In 2004, JR East purchased six carriages of TWR 70-000 series, which were operational until 2022. At that time, TWR had been rearranging the series from six to ten coaches, and JR East took redundant carriages over.

The other case was Semboku Rapid Railway 3000 series, 14 carriages of which were purchased by Nanai in 2013. Nankai had to replace 7000 series trains as soon as possible but it was impractical to replace them with brand new trains. Hence, Nankai decided to reuse the 3000 series. Today, all 14 carriages are used on Nankai Main Line their car numbers unchanged.