By KAZUHIKO MATSUNAGA/ Staff Writer
January 1, 2023 at 07:00 JST
OSAKA--Osaka Metro Co.’s first new subway train since privatization features a futuristic octagonal front face covered by a large sheet of glass with light-emitting diodes embedded in four corners.
The 400 series model, themed on a spaceship, is scheduled to start operating on the Chuo Line in April 2023. A self-operating function on the train will undergo verification testing in the business year that begins in April 2024.
Planned in preparation for the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo, the train was shown to the media at the company’s Midorigi vehicle factory in Osaka’s Suminoe Ward on Dec. 7.
It was designed by Kiyoyuki Okuyama, chief design officer at Osaka Metro who has also worked on Ferrari sports cars.
“I put the futuristic feel at the forefront to make it recognizable at first sight,” he said. “Just looking at the train will make you want to ride it. It turned out to be a train that can energize Osaka.”
The doors of the vehicle body are painted green, corresponding to the signature color of the Chuo Line, while the doors of multipurpose carriages are blue.
The backrests on passenger seats are taller to provide comfort.
For the first time on an Osaka Metro subway train, the 400 series has some cross seats at the windows.
Security cameras will allow crew members to monitor the interior conditions in real time.
It will cost about 30 billion yen ($220 million) to introduce the 400 series trains, built by Hitachi Ltd.
Osaka Metro, which was privatized in 2018, said it will start operating 23 six-car trains by the time the expo opens.
The company will extend the Chuo Line to Yumeshima, the expo site, by the end of fiscal 2024 via an undersea tunnel. The line is expected to be a major access route to the venue.
Osaka Metro currently operates 16 trains on the Chuo Line at peak hours. But it plans to increase the figure to 24 per hour.
It has already been operating the new 30000A series train, remodeled from the 30000 series that is running on the Midosuji Line and elsewhere, to prepare for the expo.
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The new 400 series train is shown to the media in Osaka’s Suminoe Ward on Dec. 7. (Shiro Nishihata)
