Tsukuba Express

TX-2000 series train

Route length:

58.3 km

Gauge :

1067 mm ( cape track )

Power system :

Akihabara – Moriya: 1500 V =

Power system :

Moriya – Tsukuba: 20 kV 50 Hz ~

Top speed:

130 km / h

Legend

		Hibiya lineage
	0.0	Akihabara Chūō-Sōbu Line , Keihin-Tōhoku Line
		Hibiya lineage
	1.6	Shin-Okachimachi
		Ginza line
	3.1	Asakusa
	5.6	Minami-Senju

		Sumidagawa
		Keisei main line
	7.5	Kita-Senju
		Arakawa

	10.6	Aoi
	12.0	Rokucho
		Ayasegawa , Tokyo / Saitama prefectural border

	15.6	Yashio
		Nakagawa
	19.3	Misato-chūō
		Edogawa , Saitama / Chiba prefectural border

	22.1	Minami-Nagareyama Musashino Line
		Nagareyama line

	24.3	Nagareyama Central Park
	26.5	Nagareyama-ōtakanomori Tōbu Noda line
	30.0	Kashiwanoha Campus
	32.0	Kashiwa-Tanaka
		Tonegawa , Chiba / Ibaraki prefectural border
	37.7	Moriya Jōsō line
		depot
		System change
		Kokaigawa

	44.3	Miraidaira

	48.6	Midorino
	51.8	Bampaku-kinenkōen
	55.6	Kenkyu-gakuen

	58.3	Tsukuba

The Tsukuba Express ( Japanese つくばエクスプレス , Tsukuba Ekusupuresu , abbreviation: TX from T sukuba E x press) is a S-Bahn-like railway line in Tokyo operated by Shutoken Shintoshi KK (Japanese 首都圏新都市株式会社 , Eng.Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company ). The line, which opened on August 24, 2005, runs from Akihabara in Tokyo to Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture and serves 20 stations. The multiple units , which are equipped with automatic driving , run at 130 km / h and are driven by one person. The travel time for the entire route is 45 minutes. The Tsukuba Express carried almost 85 million passengers in 2007.

history

The route was originally called the New Jōban Line , as it was supposed to relieve the congested Jōban Line . However, the economic crisis in Japan brought the goal of developing the areas along the route to the fore. The original plan was to build the line from Tokyo to Moriya, but the terminus was moved from Tokyo to Akihabara in order to save costs. The government of Ibaraki Prefecture ensured that the extension from Moriya to Tsukuba, which was planned for later, was implemented in the first construction phase. The opening of the Tsukuba Express was originally planned for 2000, but had to be postponed until 2005.

Technology and vehicles

So that the measurements of the earth's magnetic field by the Japan Meteorological Agency in Ishioka are not disturbed, the section between Moriya and Tsukuba was electrified with alternating current , while the Akihabara – Moriya route is operated with direct current . Two different series of multiple units are used: 84 series TX-1000 wagons , which can only run on the direct current part of the route, and 96 wagons of the TX-2000 series , which can travel the entire route. All EMUs are six pieces and come from the A-train family of Hitachi .

business

In addition to the S-Bahn trains, which serve all the stops, there are accelerated trains that do not serve the Aoi , Rokuchō , Nagareyama Central Park and Kashiwa-Tanaka stations . The Regio-Express trains only serve the Minami-Nagareyama , Nagareyama-Ōtakanomori and Moriya stations between Kita-Senju and Tsukuba .

Between rush hour and during the weekend during the day there is a "Rapid", "Semi-Rapid" and "Local" train every thirty minutes on the entire route, and two "Local" trains between Akihabara and Moriya. To cover this operation, twelve of the TX-2000 trains and seven TX-1000 trains are on the move at the same time. During its journey, the “Rapid” overtakes two “Local” trains in both directions - one in Yashio and one in Moriya. (As of June 2018)

Web links

Commons : Metropolitan Intercity Railway - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Official website (English)
Development of neighboring communities (English)