As Class 315 retires

A farewell event of Class 315 is held today. The Class 315 was built in 1980-81 and has been used in London and nearby regions for more than 40 years. It has been observed often on Great Eastern Main Line in the past few years.

It is said that very few Class 315 services remain even after the farewell railtour, possibly until 9 December, though they might be affected by nationwide industrial action.

The last regular services of the Class have been those between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. When I lived in London in 2018-19, the 315s were used by London Overground and TfL Rail, and the services on the GEML were provided by the latter one. Even after Crossrail opened in May 2022, the 315s remained in service. But unsurprisingly, all 315s will leave the mainline at last.

A Class 315 train arriving at Seven Sisters. In spite of its appearance, this train was apparently Overground service. In 2019, an ex-TfL Rail unit 315858 was transferred to Lea Valley Lines as another unit operated by Overground broke down. Do you remember?

As the Class 315 is withdrawn, I realised that there are only a few electric multiple units built by British Rail (before the privatisation) remain in London today. The following BR EMUs in the capital retired since the pandemic began:

Class	Operator	Retired in
317	LO	Apr 2020
315	LO	Oct 2020
365	GN	May 2021
456	SW	Jan 2022
455	SN	May 2022
317	LE	Jul 2022
322	LE	Aug 2022
315	XR	Nov 2022

If I have not made any mistake, there are only Class 321 (Greater Anglia), Class 455 (South Western Railway) and Class 465 & 466 (Southeastern). The first two trains are due to be replaced with new Aventra trains, so they might retire next year or so.

Keisei Derailment 2022 - what we know so far?

京成線、隣の電車が脱線してたけどあと少し手前に来てたら巻き添え食らってたかも… pic.twitter.com/VQswlpkyFC

— ガセッティ (@gasettist) November 17, 2022

At 10:21 am on Thursday 17 November, a train derailed at a depot near Keisei-Takasago station in the east of Tokyo. According to a document issued by Keisei, the derailed train was empty coaching stock that was supposed to terminate at the very depot (i.e. no passenger onboard). It blocked tracks of Keisei Main Line and Hokuso Line for more than ten hours, and thus resulted in part suspension of service that lasted until 8:49 pm. Nobody injured according to the Police Agency.

Skyliner approaching Keisei-Takasago station

Keisei-Takasago is a hub station, as there is a depot nearby and Hokuso Line branches off. All Skyliner services that connect Narita Airport and Ueno, and major commuter trains to and from Ueno and Toei Asakusa Line (underground) run. All of these services have been cancelled due to the derailment, and the accident severely affected not only local residents but also businesspeople and tourists (including those from abroad).

ジャッキ外れて車両が落ちたよ😨
みんな怪我無くてよかった。#京成線 #高砂 #脱線 pic.twitter.com/lA1glqWwpl

— J (@beikoku_tanmou) November 17, 2022

It took longer than initially expected to resume services, as workers struggled to reinstate the train to the track. As the video shows, even jacking the train up was not always easy for them. The train was stored eight hours after the derailment, and now awaiting investigation conducted by both the company and the authorities.

The train derailed exactly at a point (or "railroad switch" in American English). According to mass media (such as TBS News), the driver reversed the train without authorisation as the train entered to a wrong track. If this description is correct, it is possible that the driver also overlooked a signal, as points and signals are generally interconnected.

Needless to say, train reversal without authorisation is a material breach of rules. He should have reported the mistake to the control room before going back. If the train had been on further, the train could have completely blocked mainline tracks and thus caused a major crash with other passenger services, or hit a person or a vehicle at a level crossing nearby. The investigation is still at an early stage, but it is highly likely that the driver involved will face a punishment if not criminal.

Keisei 3700 series

The derailed train was unit No. 3788 of Keisei 3700 series, which was registered for mainline use on 1 March 1996. The unit will certainly be taken out of service and stored for months whilst investigation is carried out. Since it is nearly 27 years old (and thus not new at all), and the crucial front carriage was severely damaged, it is not certain whether the company will repair the train and reinstate it to services or send them for scrap.

Two Rinkai lines

If you have been on a train in Tokyo, you might have heard of Rinkai line at least once. JR East's onboard English announcement calls it "Tokyo Rinkai Kosoku Tetsudo Rinkai Line", which is merely a transliteration of the official Japanese name. This is frankly absurd, as there is an official English name, Tokyo Waterfront Railway. Anyway, there is a railway called Rinkai Line.

However, there is another Rinkai line in Tokyo, which is officially called Tokyo Rinkai Shin-Kotsu Rinkai Line. Aren't they the same? No, they aren't. Are they operated by the same company? No, they aren't. Do they serve the same area? Yes, they do. What a confusing story it is!

Tokyo Waterfront Railway Rinkai Line – which I would call it the "genuine Rinkai Line" - is, however, not registered on public documents. Its official name is "Rinkai Fukutoshin Line" (lit. Waterfront Subcentre Line). The line was called as such when it opened in 1996, but it has been called Rinkai Line since 2000 (otherwise it must be extremely confusing especially after Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line was opened in 2008). Rinkai Line connects Osaki (an interchange station with JR Yamanote Line) and Shin-Kiba (an interchange station with JR Keiyo and Tokyo Metro Yurakucho lines). As the word "waterfront" suggests, trains run newly developed areas very close to Tokyo Bay.

More than 99% of the entire population have never heard of Tokyo Rinkai Shin-Kotsu Rinkai Line (lit. "Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Rinkai Line"), but not a few people know its nickname: Yurikamome. It is an automated guided transit, perhaps the most famous one in Japan. Yurikamome opened in 1995, about five months earlier than TWR Rinkai Line (the "genuine" one). Today, Yurikamome connects Shimbashi and Toyosu, and many foreign tourists have also visited the area before the pandemic.

Are these two lines lie closely? They do. Yurikamome steps across TWR Rinkai Line twice near Daiba and Ariake stations. They run parallel for nearly a mile, though they cannot see each other as TWR Rinkai Line is mostly underground. Ariake station on Yurikamome and Kokusai-tenjijo station on TWR Rinkai Line are the closest interchange, as there are less than 300 yards.

Finally, isn't there a risk of confusion. Mostly no, as 999 out of 1,000 people would not call Yurikamome's official name. In most cases, "Rinkai Line" refers to TWR, not the automated guided transit.

The preserved train retires

Japanese National Railways KiHa 58 series was once the most numerous diesel train in Japanese history, as 1,823 carriages were delivered in 1961-69. There were also two more series derived from the KiHa 58 series: KiHa 56 series for Hokkaido and KiHa 57 series for Usui Pass on Shin'etsu Main Line. The total number of "KiHa 58 series family" was 2,117 carriages in total, accounting for 30% of the entire diesel trains in the country.

JR group had used them even after the privatisation of JNR in 1987, but the number dramatically dropped in the 1990s and 2000s. HERE for more information about the series. The series was withdrawn from all regular JR services in 2011, but Isumi Railway in Chiba Prefecture bought one and they has used it at weekends. However, its demise is now imminent.

The only operational carriage is KiHa 28 2346 (hereinafter referred to as "the carriage"), which worked as the last regular service of the series on Takayama Main Line in western Japan. The carriage, which was originally KiHa 28 346, was built in 1964. It had mostly been used in San'in region, but it was temporarily allocated to Chiba Prefecture in July 1964 as there were significant number of tourists going to beaches during summer holidays. Though the carriage was returned to Yonago Depot in Tottori Prefecture, it did run in Chiba and possibly in Tokyo.

In 2012, a year after the retirement, the then-president of Isumi Railway, Akira Torizuka, decided to reintroduce the carriage to mainline. Isumi Railway is a rural line in Chiba Prefecture, and it has been on the verge of permanent closure. Torizuka considered that the carriage will attract railway enthusiasts with cameras, just like what he did when he was young. Then, the carriage became the de facto preserved train.

The carriage mostly ran at weekends and holidays together with another de facto preserved train, KiHa 52 125. Were they profitable? Obviously not, as maintaining these old trains cost considerably. Was the (re)introduction of those diesel trains successful? To some extent, yes. Torizuka has been reiterating that rural lines can bring tourists to the area so that local economy might benefit from the railway. Even if railway enthusiasts visit the towns and villages by car, they surely go to restaurants and convenience stores to have lunch, and perhaps also petrol stations. Some of them might visit small shops that deal in local food, sake and other souvenirs. Torizuka realised that it is more appropriate to consider the overall benefit of the railway in the area, rather than just focusing on an income statement.

However, such business is durable only when local residents agree with the policy and cooperate with all parties concerned, as Torizuka acknowledges. If local governments of Otaki Town and other nearby cities/towns and local residents thereof had opposed Torizuka's ambitious plan, no preserved train would have ran, and even Isumi Railway itself would have been closed. It could have happened just like local residents and politicians in Samani Town, who opposed reopening Hidaka Main Line and preferred road transport, as this blog mentioned before.

KiHa 28 2346 entered service in 2013. Since the carriage is not double-ended, it always runs with another old train, KiHa 52 125. The preserved trains usually run on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays as "Express" services. The carriage has been the only operational KiHa 58 series train except very few "Joyful Train" units (which were dramatically refurbished as if a different train). As Torizuka said, preserved trains often break down even with great efforts of maintenance staff. He repeatedly warned railway enthusiasts that these trains would not run forever, and might suddenly retire. Fortunately, both preserved trains remained on mainline longer than he anticipated.

In May 2022, Isumi Railway announced that KiHa 28 2346 would be withdrawn from weekend services in November. According to the company, this was due to a tremendous cost that is essential to keep the carriage running, and technical difficulties to maintain engines and generators.

It is rumoured that Torizuka's successor is not interested in attracting railway enthusiasts and the idea that they contribute to local economy so that the incumbent president decided to simply stop using such shabby trains. Whatever the true reason is, the company apparently concluded that it could not afford it. The last "Express" service by KiHa 28 2346 will run on Sunday 27 November 2022, and it will be used for a few rail tours until February 2023. The other preserved train, KiHa 52 125, is also likely to retire in the near future.

Not a few railway enthusiasts tend to think that preserved trains are preserved forever, but it is simply not true. Owners might change their mind just like this present case. Changes to safety rules and upgrading signalling systems could affect them, like old tube trains in central London (1938 stock and steam trains). What we should hope now is that KiHa 28 2346 will be statically displayed somewhere, not be demolished.

Haneda Airport: Slowing Down?!

Introduction

On 24 October, Keikyu published an overview of new timetables that take effect on 26 November. According to the company, it is the biggest timetable change in more than 23 years. Like other railway operators around the world, Keikyu has decided to reduce services as ridership has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic level. However, the timetable revision contains significant changes that are contradictory to its long-term objectives, and thus raises serious concerns that how or even if do they really think carefully about their future, as argued below.

What happens to Keikyu lines?

Limited Express Tokkyu

Service reduction. Keikyu has not yet published statistics this year, but other railway companies in Tokyo have seen less passengers than before the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Tokyu estimates 14% less ridership than pre-COVID days by March 2023. As considerable number of people prefer remote working even today, the ridership of trains in Tokyo is not expected to be fully recovered, just like other major operators across the country and around the world – such as JR Group, Transport for London and Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York. Keikyu is no exception.

During rush hours, not a few fast services from Shinagawa towards Yokohama and Yokosuka will be formed of eight coaches instead of twelve. In the daytime, trains to and from Yokohama area will be reduced from 18 to 15 services per hour. Airport Express will be every 20 minutes instead of 10, and Limited Express Kaitoku to and from Toei Asakusa Line will be downgraded to Tokkyu.

More radical changes will be taken place: services between Tokyo and Haneda Airport, as described below.

How do services to Haneda Airport change?

Before looking the new service patterns, it is important to review the current off-peak timetable (daytime on weekdays and almost the whole day at weekend).

BEFORE the timetable revision

At present, Limited Express Kaitoku (including one Airport Limited Express) to/from Shinagawa and Toei Asakusa Line run every 10 minutes, and Airport Express to/from Yokohama runs every 10 minutes. As the map shows, Kaitoku is a fast service, while Airport Express is semi-fast. The fastest Airport Limited Express runs every 40 minutes.

AFTER the timetable revision

The new timetable shows that many Kaitoku services (except Airport Limited Express) are replaced with slower Tokkyu, and Airport Express will be provided every 20 minutes. It is not even certain at present that if trains to and from the Airport will always be provided exactly every 10 minutes. The fastest Airport Limited Express keeps running every 40 minutes.

Why does Keikyu adopt such a measure? The company cuts Airport Express by half, but in that case, small stations between Keikyu Kamata and Haneda Airport will only have three trains per hour, which is disproportionately infrequent. In compensation for that, Kaitoku services are going to be downgraded to Tokkyu, in which case those small stations will have almost equivalent number of trains to before the timetable revision.

However, it is needless to say that downgrading services means nothing but longer journey time. Tokkyu between Shinagawa and Haneda Airport Terminals 1,2 is expected to take 20 minutes, five minutes longer than Kaitoku.

Why is it so problematic?

Airport Express

Haneda is one of two international airports in Tokyo, and it is well known that Haneda is far closer to the capital and thus more convenient than Narita Airport. It is obviously essential to keep public transport between the airport and the centre of the capital smooth. Furthermore, as the country reopened at last, Haneda Airport will certainly be busy once again. Amid the surge in demand, slowing down is simply a backlash.

There are three major routes connecting Tokyo and the Airport: Keikyu, Tokyo Monorail and bus services. It depends on which part of Tokyo you are going to or from, but all these three choices are equally attractive. In other words, competition with each other is always severe.

A typical suburban train on JR East network

More importantly, Keikyu is expected to drop out the race in the near future. JR East has been constructing a new line that connects the Airport and Tokyo station, and it is scheduled to open by March 2030. At present, a journey between them takes 33 minutes via Keikyu and 28 minutes by Tokyo Monorail, but the new JR line will take just 18 minutes. Meanwhile, a Keikyu train between Shinagawa and the Airport will take 20 minutes. Hence, the result of the race (JR East vs Keikyu) is patently obvious.

Has Keikyu given up the race?

Limited Express Kaitoku (through-service)

Not really. According to the latest investment plan, Keikyu has been refurbishing Haneda Airport Terminals 1,2 station with new turnback sidings to boost capacity by providing more services. Keikyu has endeavoured to encourage businesspeople and tourists to use its services as much as possible so that not a few of them might still choose Keikyu even after JR launches new services. "Keikyu is fast and convenient"...this is what the company has been eager for passengers to remember.

Nevertheless, the new timetable revision makes services slower and less convenient. It does not make sense at all. They might have been caught in a dilemma of whether pursuing efficiency by cutting trains and staffs or keeping frequent and fast services to the Airport. It is possible that they simply lack a consistent long-term plan or failed to form a consensus inside the company. More likely, it is because the company has been suffered severely from staff shortage so that they had no choice but to significantly reduce services, as Keikyu has been notorious for poor working conditions, which has often been mocked as "the railway of thirteen-consecutive-day labour".

Is there any impact on the new Kamakama Line?

A train similar to Tokyu Tamagawa Line

Highly unlikely. Kamakama Line is a proposed new railway connecting Kamata and Keikyu Kamata station, which is approximately half a mile. It connects Tokyu and Keikyu lines, allowing through-service between Haneda Airport and western part of Tokyo (such as Shibuya and Ikebukuro) via Tokyu Tamagawa, Meguro and Toyoko Lines. Some services might be extended to as far as Kawagoe and Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture. There are many difficulties in this project, particularly different track gauges between Tokyu and Keikyu. It is reported that Ota City of Tokyo and Tokyu are positive about the new railway, but Keikyu is reluctant to pursue it. The Metropolitan Government of Tokyo had been opposed to the plan at first, but agreed in 2022 with expending 30% of the cost.

Keikyu has not done anything about the proposed Kamakama Line, and the company has never published any announcement about it either. Since Keikyu has not been positive about the Line, it is almost certain that the timetable revision is completely irrelevant to the Kamakama Line project. Thus, there will be no impact on the new line.

Conclusion

Keikyu has decided to reduce regional services in Yokohama area, but it also significantly cuts the services between central Tokyo and Haneda Airport. Whether intentional or not, businesspeople and tourists will surely be dissatisfied with the new timetable. Even without the timetable revision, Keikyu is on the verge of losing the competition with the rivals (particularly the new JR line), and the revision will definitely deteriorate the situation further. Frankly speaking, it is suicidal.

It is deeply concerning that whether the company has determination to have a consistent long-term plan or not, or even if it is capable to do so.