Japan: A fleet of five four-car trainsets started operation on the route from Osaka to Nagoya last week. By the end of the year, the private operator is going to put into service three more trains in a three-car configuration.
The trains were designed and assembled by Kintetsu’s subsidiary Kinki Sharyo, which was also responsible for the construction of the bogies and aluminium bodies, while the traction equipment was supplied by Mitsubishi. A trainset has two powered cars which feature asynchronous motors, 240 kW each (1,920 kW in total), and traction inverters using SiC MOSFETs.
The energy consumption is reported to be reduced by 45% in comparison with the due-to-be-replaced Series 2610 and 2800 EMUs, built in the 1970s. The train is additionally equipped with a dynamic braking system to pass 35‰ gradients when recuperation is impossible.
Designed for 1,435 mm gauge lines, each 83 m trainset can accommodate up to 500 passengers and run at a speed of 120 km/h. The seats can be rotated backwards, forwards and sideways. There are dedicated areas for passengers with prams and luggage in each car, multifunctional spaces and a wheelchair-accessible toilet on board.
