The Choshi Electric Railway 2000 series (銚子電鉄2000形, Chōshi Dentetsu 2000-gata) is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Choshi Electric Railway in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, since July 2010. The two two-car sets were converted from former Iyo Railway 800 series EMU cars, which were themselves converted from former Keio Corporation 2010 series EMUs built in 1962, and were introduced to replace the Choshi Electric Railway's ageing 700 and 800 series EMU cars.[1]
Formations
The two two-car sets are each formed of a driving motor (Mc) car and driving trailer (Tc) car as shown below, with the DeHa 2000 cars at the Chōshi end.[2][3]
Designation
Mc
Tc
Numbering
DeHa 200x
KuHa 250x
Capacity (total/seated)
118/48
120/50
Weight (t)
32.7
26.7
The DeHa 2000 cars were originally fitted with one lozenge type pantograph.[4]
The pantograph on DeHa 2001 was damaged on 20 October 2013, entailing its replacement with a spare single-arm pantograph from 22 October – a first for trains on the line.[5]
External livery
Set 2001
Set 2001 initially carried the all-over green livery originally carried in its Keio days. Following general overhaul in December 2017, car KuHa 2501 was repainted into a new livery of dark blue and light grey, with car DeHa 2001 remaining in the same all-over green livery it carried from its introduction on the Choshi Electric Railway.[6]
Set 2001 in all-over green Keio-style livery in August 2010
Set 2001 in May 2014, with its replacement single-arm pantograph
Set 2002
Set 2002 was initially painted into all-over cream livery and entered service in July 2010 with advertising vinyls promoting the local Aeon shopping mall. The advertising contract with Aeon for set 2002 expired on 21 November 2012,[7] and from December, the set was returned to service in the cream livery with red bodyside line as carried by the Keio 2010 series EMUs in their later days.[8] Set 2002 was scheduled to run in this livery until 16 September 2013,[9] after which date it received a "90th Anniversary livery", consisting of the addition of black and red paintwork to the non-gangwayed cab end. Following the completion of accident damage repairs in March 2015, set 2002 was repainted in the early Choshi Electric Railway livery of red and beige, returning to service in April 2015.[10]
Set 2002 in August 2010 in Aeon advertising livery with KuHa 2502 leading
Set 2002 in Keio-style livery in December 2012, following removal of its earlier advertising vinyls
Set 2002 in "90th Anniversary livery" in November 2013
Set 2002 in old-style livery in October 2015
Interior
The trains feature longitudinal seating, and are equipped with fare collection boxes at each end for wanmandriver only operation. The trains are also the first Choshi Electric Railway trains to be equipped with air-conditioning, although initially it was used only in simple ventilation mode, due to the insufficient capacity of the line's power supply.[11] From late June 2013, however, a static inverter was added, enabling the air-conditioning to be used.[12]
Interior view in August 2010
History
Preserved Keio 2010 series EMU car 2015 in April 2003Iyo Railway set 823 (later Choshi Electric Railway set 2002) in June 2007Set 2002 undergoing conversion/repainting work at Nakanocho Depot in March 2010
The four cars in operation were originally built in 1962 by Hitachi and Nippon Sharyo as 2010 series trains for use on the 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in) gauge Keio Line in Tokyo. 18 2010 series cars were purchased from Keio between 1984 and 1985 by the Iyo Railway in Shikoku, becoming the 800 series. Regauging work for use on the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge Iyo line involved modifying the Nippon Sharyo NA-318 and Tokyu Car TS-321A bogies on the trailer (non-motored) cars and replacing the bogies on motored cars with Tokyu TS-307 bogies from former Keio Inokashira Line 1000 series EMUs withdrawn in 1984.[3] On the Iyo Railway, the 800 series trains initially operated as 3-car sets, but in 1994, driving cabs based on the design of the former Keio 5000 series EMUs were added to the intermediate SaHa 850 cars to create two-car sets formed as MoHa 820 + KuHa 850. This is the reason for the differing style driving cabs on each end of the present-day 2000 series sets.[3]
Two two-car 800 series trains (MoHa 822 + KuHa 852 and MoHa 823 + KuHa 853) were purchased from the Iyo Railway in November 2009, and were modified for driver-only-operation and repainted at the line's Nakanocho Depot by Keisei Sharyo engineers, becoming the Choshi Electric Railway 2000 series.[3] The trains entered service on 24 July 2010.[13]
Individual car histories
Set No.
Car No.
Date built
Manufacturer
Keio numbering
Iyo numbering
2001
DeHa 2001
August 1962
Hitachi
DeHa 2070
MoHa 822
KuHa 2501
December 1962
Hitachi
SaHa 2575
SaHa 852, later KuHa 852
2002
DeHa 2002
August 1962
Hitachi
DeHa 2069
MoHa 823
KuHa 2502
December 1962
Nippon Sharyo
SaHa 2576
SaHa 853, later KuHa 853
Accidents
On 11 January 2014, at 08:19, set 2002 derailed on points on the approach to Kasagami-Kurohae Station while on a service from Tokawa to Choshi.[14][15] Two of the train's bogies were derailed, but the train remained upright.[14] The unit remained out of service due to the lack of funds to carry out repairs, but later in 2014, students from the Choshi Commercial Senior High School used crowdfunding to raise 4.84 million yen in a period of two months to help cover the cost of repair work.[16] Repairs were completed in March 2015,[17] with the train returning to passenger service on 4 April 2015.[10]
References
^Satō, Toshio (December 2009). 銚子電鉄の電車たちを訪ねて [Visiting the trains of the Chōshi Electric Railway]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 49, no. 584. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. pp. 92–96.
^ 私鉄車両編成表 2010 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations – 2010]. Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. August 2010. p. 19. ISBN978-4-330-15310-0.
^ abcdShirato, Sadao (July 2011). 銚子電気鉄道(下) [Choshi Electric Railway Volume Two]. Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. pp. 42–45. ISBN978-4-7770-5310-0.
^銚子電鉄,もと伊予鉄道800系の現状 [Current status of Choshi Electric Railway's former Iyo 800 series]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Koyusha Co., Ltd. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
^銚子電気鉄道 2001編成シングルアームパンタ化工事実施 [Choshi Electric Railway set 2001 fitted with single-arm pantograph]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
^銚子電鉄2001編成重要部検査施行 [Choshi Electric Railway set 2001 undergoes major overhaul]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 29 December 2017. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
^イオン様ラッピング車両 運行終了のおしらせ [End of operations for Aeon advertising train]. Choshi Electric Railway official blog (in Japanese). Japan. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^Chujo, Mamoru (March 2013). 12/15, 銚子電鉄2000系第2編成の塗装変更を確認 [15 Dec: Livery change confirmed on Choshi Electric Railway 2000 series set 2]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 53, no. 623. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. p. 165.
^銚子電気鉄道 2002編成「京王帝都電鉄2010系イメージカラー」終了 [Choshi Electric Railway set 2002 to stop running in Keio 2010 series livery]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
^ ab銚子電気鉄道2002編成の運転再開 [Choshi Electric Railway 2000 series set 2002 returns to service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
^ 全国注目の私鉄車両総ガイド [General Guide to Private Railway Rolling Stock in the Spotlight Nationwide]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 41, no. 344. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. December 2012. p. 9.
^銚子電気鉄道2000形の話題 [Choshi Electric Railway 2000 series news]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
^2000形営業運転開始 [2000 series enters revenue service]. RM News (in Japanese). Neko Publishing. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
^ ab銚子電鉄:電車が脱線、乗客けがなし…笠上黒生駅 [Choshi Electric Railway train derails at Kasagami-Kurohae Station – No passengers injured]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. 11 January 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^銚子電鉄 笠上黒生駅付近で発生した列車脱線事故について [Choshi Electric Railway: Details of derailment near Kasagami-Kurohae Station] (PDF). New release (in Japanese). Japan: Choshi Electric Railway. 11 January 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^銚子電鉄の脱線車両、1年3カ月ぶり復帰 支援の銚子商生徒ら乗車 [Derailed Choshi Electric Railway train returns to service after 1 year 3 months with supporting Choshi Commercial High School students on board]. Sankei News (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
^銚子電気鉄道2000形2002編成が試運転 [Choshi Electric Railway 2000 series set 2002 test run]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.