Monday 10 June 2013

The Tokyu 7000, Smart Train in the Residential Area


EMU Tokyu 7000 series leaves Kamata Station on the Tamagawa Line
 
I can't believe it's the middle of the June already. We are halfway through this year. Although the maximum daytime temperature is still lower than 30 degrees Celsius, the sunlight is very strong down here in Tokyo as it is an early summer.

One sunny day, I visited a friend of mine, who lived in a residential quarter in the southwestern part of Tokyo on the Tokyu-Ikegami Line. When I was waiting for my train at Kamata Terminal, I came across the latest model EMU, the 7000 series (see the top photo).

The 7000 series was commissioned in 2007 to replace old models on the Ikegami and the Tamagawa lines. So far, a total of 7 sets, 21 units, have been manufactured by Tokyu Sharyo. One of the features of this train is its body size. Different from the other major rolling stock on the Tokyu lines, the 7000 series is a smaller sized train (18m in length per unit) with smaller number of doors (3 doors on one side per unit).

I was fascinated by the 7000 series. The design is smart as a train of the fashionable urban residential areas. The green colored body is totally new, since most of the Tokyu trains have red stripes on the stainless steel bodies (see the following pictures). The interior of the 7000 series is also attractive for me. Specifically, the heavily used wood-grain walls offer the passengers peace and comfort.

 
EMU 7000 series (left) and the other rolling stock stand at Yukigaya Rail Yard,Tokyu-Ikegami Line
 
More information about trains on the Tokyu Lines (in Japanese):