Tsukuba Express
From Freepedia
The Tsukuba Express (Japanese : つくばエクスプレス) is a railway line of the Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company (首都圏新都市鉄道, Shuto-ken Shin Toshi Tetsudō) that links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda ku, Tokyo, and Tsukuba Station in the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Its abbreviation is TX. The train had its maiden trip on August 23, 2005. An extension through a deep tunnel to Tokyo Station is also planned.
Contents |
Route
- Administration: Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company
- Length: 58.3 km from Akihabara Station to Tsukuba Station
- Stations: 20
- Gauge: 1067 mm
- Multiple-track along entire route
- Electrification
- Block System: Automatic (ATO)
- Yard: Moriya Station
Construction Progress
Initially, the line was to be called Jōban Shinsen (New Jōban Line). The reason for the line was to relieve crowding on the Joban Line of JR East, which had reached the limit of its capacity. However, with the economic downturn in Japan, the goal shifted to development along the line. Also, the initial plan called for a line from Tokyo to Moriya, but expenses forced the planners to start the line at Akihabara instead of Tokyo, and pressure from the government of Ibaraki Prefecture resulted in moving the extension from Moriya to Tsukuba into Phase I of the construction.
Development of land in Kashiwa and Moriya has called into question whether as many passengers as planned will take the new line.
The original schedule called for the line to begin operating in 2000, but delays resulted in a 2005 start.
Operating Plan and Present Conditions
The line plans a top speed of 130 km/h, exceeding the 120 km/h top speed of trains on the Keihin Electric Express Railway, the fastest private railway in the capital region. Rapid service has reduced the time required for the trip from Akihabara to Tsukuba from the previous 1 hour 30 minutes (by the Joban Line, arriving in Tsuchiura, about 15km from Tsukuba)or 70 minutes (by bus, under optimal traffic conditions) to 45 minutes; from Tokyo, the trip requires 50 – 55 minutes. The line has no at-grade crossings.
An automatic train operation system allows a single individual to operate the train.
Electrification and Rolling Stock
To prevent interference with the geomagnetic measurements of the Japan Meteorological Agency at its laboratory in Yasato, Niihari District, Ibaraki, the portion of the line from Moriya to Tsukuba will operate on alternating current. For that reason, the cars will include TX-1000 (DC cars which can operate between Akihabara and Moriya), and TX-2000 (AC cars which can operate on the entire line).
Volume production of the rolling stock began in January, 2004, following the completion in March 2003 of the two-car train for trial operation and training. The plan calls for an inventory of 84 TX-1000s (for 14 six-car trains) and 96 TX-2000s (for 16 six-car trains), to be ready in January, 2005.
Stations
- DC Segment
- Akihabara Station (秋葉原)
- Shin Okachimachi Station (新御徒町)
- Asakusa Station (浅草)
- Minami Senju Station (南千住)
- Kita Senju Station (北千住)
- Aoi Station (青井)
- Rokucho Station (六町)
- Yashio Station (八潮)
- Misato Chuo Station (三郷中央)
- Minami Nagareyama Station (南流山)
- Nagareyama Central Park Station (流山セントラルパーク)
- Nagareyama Ōtaka-no-mori Station (流山おおたかの森)
- Kashiwa-no-ha campus Station (柏の葉キャンパス)
- Kashiwa Tanaka Station (柏たなか)
- Moriya Station (守谷)
- AC Segment
- Miraidaira Station (みらい平)
- Midorino Station (みどりの)
- Bampaku Kinen Koen Station (万博記念公園)
- Kenkyu Gakuen Station (研究学園)
- Tsukuba Station (つくば)
Connecting Lines
- Akihabara Station: Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Chuo-Sobu Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
- Shin Okachimachi Station: Toei Oedo Line
- Minami Senju Station: Joban Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
- Kita Senju Station: Joban Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, Tobu Isesaki Line
- Minami Nagareyama Station: Musashino Line
- Nagareyama Ōtaka Station: Tobu Noda Line
- Moriya Station: Kanto Tetsudo Joso Line
See also
List of railway companies in Japan
