The is a dual-voltage
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
(EMU) train type operated by the
Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company
The is a third-sector railway operating company in Japan. It was established on 15 March 1991 to construct the 58.3 km Tsukuba Express (then known as the ''Jōban Shinsen'') commuter railway line from in Tokyo to in Ibaraki Prefecture
...
on the
Tsukuba Express
The , or TX, is a Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector company Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company, which links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was inaugurated on 24 Augu ...
line in the
Kanto region
Kantō (Japanese)
Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics.
In Japan
Kantō may refer to:
*Kantō Plain
*Kantō region
*Kantō-kai, organized crime group
*Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...
of Japan since 2005.
Design
TX-2000 series trains are capable of operating on both the 1,500 V DC and 20 kV AC sections of the Tsukuba Express, and therefore operate over the full length of the line. (The DC-only
TX-1000 series sets are restricted to the Akihabara – Moriya section of the line.)
Formation
, the fleet consists of 23 six-car sets (51 to 73), consisting of four motored (M) cars and two trailer (T) cars, and formed as follows with car 1 at the Tsukuba (northern) end.
Cars 2 and 4 are each fitted with two single-arm
pantographs
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
.
Interior
The middle two cars, 3 and 4, feature transverse seating bays with folding tables.
History
The first six-car prototype was built in March 2003, and 15 more sets were subsequently delivered from
Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
between January and July 2004, entering service on 24 August 2008.
Four additional sets (67 to 70) were delivered in 2008 to provide increased capacity. These later sets differ in having a red bodyline stripe added below the windows.
A further three six-car sets were delivered in June and August 2012 to provide additional capacity.
These three sets, 71 to 73, feature a number of design improvements over earlier sets, including the use of LED interior lighting, increased seat thickness, and opening windows to provide ventilation at the ends of cars.
From April 2017, the transverse seating in cars 3 and 4 was gradually replaced by longitudinal bench seating.
References
External links
Tsukuba Express TX-2000 information
{{A-Train
Electric multiple units of Japan
2000 series
Hitachi multiple units
20 kV AC multiple units
1500 V DC multiple units of Japan