Friday 9 September 2016

EMU 5000 Series: Evergreen Train on the Nishitetsu Line

EMU Nishitetsu 5000 series arrives at Futsukaichi Station on the Oomuta Line

There are lively old gentlemen everywhere in the world. The same can be said of trains in Japan. For instance, the EMU Nishitetsu 5000 series is one of the representative evergreen trains on Kyushu Island.

The 5000 series was launched in 1975 to reinforce the transportation capacity of the Nishitetsu's Oomuta Line. Replacement of the small-sized old models, such as the 100, 200, 300 and 313 series, had another purpose to introduce the 5000 series. A total of 40 sets (3-car and 4-car trains), 136 units, have been built by Kawasaki heavy Industries over 16 years. The 5000 series is a 20 m-long car with 1,500 V DC electric systems. The gauge size is 1,435 mm (standard gauge). Its technical specification is rather old, but the 5000 series is still maintained in good condition.

I like the 5000 series as its face is unique. It looks like a flatfish or a flounder. Only the right side of its face has a curved panoramic window to secure the driver's visibility. For your information, the driver's seat is equipped on the right side (the left side with respect to a vehicle travelling direction) of most Japanese trains.

The coloring of the 5000 series is also unique. It has a light blue colored body with a red colored stripe. I have never seen this color combination elsewhere. They are not current fashionable colors in Japan, but they are at least my favorite. 

The EMU Nishitetsu 5000 series, it is an evergreen flatfish train.

Front mask of the EMU Nishitetsu 5000 series