International Railroad Discussion > Japan 2002 Part 1 - Keikyu Railway

In October 2002 I went to Japan with a friend (who speaks Japanese) for 2 weeks of train riding, on both JR and on the wide variety of smaller, private railways that provide much of the local train service throughout Japan.  A book I bought a few years ago detailed 109 private railways at that time - not sure if that is still the number, but it gives you an idea of the scale.  Railways in Japan operate under different economic framework than in the US, and many of the private railways are profitable, due to the volume of passengers, but also due to the cross-subisidization with other businesses.  For instance, many railways are also land developers, and own vast apartment housing complexes and malls that contribute riders to the systems.  They also own baseball teams, amusement parks, and other attractions to spur people to ride the trains, much as American streetcar systems did in the early 20th Century.

My favorite of the private railways was the Keikyu, which operates south from Tokyo through Yokohama and Kawasaki to the Yokosuka peninsula.  It's about a 50-mile long double track mainline, with a few short branches.  As with most of the Tokyo-area private railways, it's double track and electrified, with an amazing high frequency of trains.  It's also standard gauge, as compared to the national JR system, which is Cape Gauge (3'6").  For most of the day, several levels of trains are operated simultaneously - Local, Limited and Express, on about a 2-minute headway.  Overtakes happen flawlessly at stations, where locals make the passneger stop on a passing loop while the Limited or Express passes through.  This 50-mile long line carries about 1.5 million riders a day.  Imagine if Caltrain carried 1.5 million riders a day!    So here are a few shots.

1)  Two trains passing through the short tunnels just outside Hemi Station.  Train on the left is headed to Tokyo (away from the camera), and the train on the right is headed toward the camera and away from Tokyo (remember Japanese railways operate left-handed).   With the high train frequencies here you don't have to wait long to get a shot like this.
2)  Outbound train from Tokyo at Hemi using some of the older 1000 series stock.  This stock reminds me of the Reading Railroad Bethlehem Steel-built EMUs.  Note this train is pulling into the platform passing loop, so will likely be overtaken by a Limited or express at this station.
3)  Series 1700 stock on a Tokyo-bound train.  Train is holding the center tracks, so is a Limited or Express. 


 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/20 15:39 by dwatry.

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4)  Riding the train into Tokyo, as in most Japanese trains, you can ride right behind the operator and watch the right-of-way and everything the operator does.  The operators point at and call out all signals (usually with white gloves), and they have a paddle posted in front of them that lists all timings on the run to the half-second.  Paddle is visible just over the operator's right shoulder.  The paddle has all door opening and closing times at each station, and the operator points at each timing and annunciates it as he does it. 
5)  Older 1000 series stock in Tokyo at Shinagawa station, where most Keikyu trains terminated in 2002.   Several private railways all came together here, and some private railway trains proceed into the subway and run over subway lines through central Tokyo. 
6)  Turnback activity at Shinagawa.  Train on the left is pulling into the stub tail tracks.  Train in the center is in the tail tracks waiting for the train on the right to clear.  Train on the right is coming up out of the subway.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/20 15:40 by dwatry.

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7)  Keikyu also operates some trains to Haneda Airport - and that's what this train is.  Also at Shinagawa, and it is coming up out of the subway, while other trains wait in the tail tracks. 

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dwatry Wrote:
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> 5)  Older 1300 series stock in Tokyo at Shinagawa
> station, where most Keikyu trains terminated in
> 2002.   Several private railways all came
> together here, and some private railway trains
> proceed into the subway and run over subway lines
> through central Tokyo. 

Thanks for the "modern nostalgia" and a great report.

1200 series (shot #2) and 1300 series are part of Class 1000, or called "Old Class 1000" to differentiate them from the modern Class 1000s that started revenue service in 2002. Your shots have great nostalgia value since the "Old 1000s" stopped running on the Keikyu system in 2011.

At Shinagawa, Keikyu Line connects to the Toei Asakusa Subway Line. On the other end (east, or northeast), the line connects to the Keisei Railway system, which goes to the other major airport, Narita.

Keisei went through the trouble of converting their entire railroad from 1372 mm to 1435 mm gauge in 1959. This was done so both railroad have run-through access through the Toei Asakusa Subway Line to give riders on either end a "one seat ride" into the heart of downtown Tokyo.

cchan006 - thanks for the info on the 1000s - I'll update the post.

We did ride through the subway onto the Keisei Railway and in a future post I'll include some shots of the Keisei in Takasago.