Japan: Private operator Nankai has placed in service a refurbished four-car unit named Gran Tenku.
From 24 April, it runs two return services a day between Namba station in Osaka and Gokurakubashi, the gateway station to sacred Mount Koya. The 64 km route is covered in 90 minutes, with the train negotiating curves as tight as 100 m radius and gradients reaching 50‰.
For the new service, Nankai refurbished a Series 2000 commuter EMU originally built by Tokyu Car (now J-TREC) in the 1990s. The train is formed entirely of 17.7 m motor cars, and its 16 asynchronous traction motors deliver a combined output of 1,600 kW. The refurbishment included the installation of Hitachi silicon carbide (SiC) traction converters, similar to those used on the new Series 8300 EMUs supplied to Nankai by Kinki Sharyo.
Gran Tenku now wears a crimson livery with gilded decorative elements, and several of the original doorways have been blanked off. Inside, 70 seats are split across a series of zones to suit different passenger preferences. Car 1 has 2+1 seating, while in Car 2 the seats face the windows for a better view of the scenery. The remaining cars house the premium Gran Seat and Gran Seat Plus areas, fitted with tables and sofa-style seating, along with a buffet.
