A pretty late (though still hopefully useful) piece of information for those out there who are going to travel to/from the Narita Airport in Tokyo (成田空港) – it looks like Japan Railways has a new, faster version of its Narita Express. Narita Express is one of the cheapest (though definitely not the cheapest – that honor belongs to the busses running to and from the airport) and quickest ways to get to the airport. This new train, comes with a bunch of new perks. According to the Mainichi Daily News:
- There is an active vibration control system which makes for a smoother ride
- All seats have power sockets for passenger’s use
- There are new security features such as cameras, dial locks for luggage space, etc.
Interestingly, both trains share the same top speed. You can find pictures of the actual train, as well as some videos on Shibuya246’s page here. It definitely looks like an impressive piece of equipment. This new train, which has the model number E259, is replacing the older, E253 model. According to Wikipedia, so far only 10 of the 26 N’EX services are so far using the newer model. It will not be before June 2010 that all of the older models are replaced.
On somewhat related news, from the same Mainichi story, it looks like there will be a new train line for getting to Narita, called “Narita New Rapid Line” which will be run by the Keisei Electric Railway Co. Competition is always good so I am looking forward to hearing more about this new line which should open to service in the Spring of 2010.
3 comments:
Keisei Rail at 1920 yen is also a little cheaper than Narita Express and a smudge faster getting to Tokyo I believe (after Tokyo, the 2 routes are different though).
You can find more pictures of the interior of the new Narita Express train cars on their website. Looks better than what I remember of the shinkansen! (but that was years ago)
Well it does not exist yet so I haven't had a chance to try Keisei Rail :P
I rode N'EX a few times already. It is pretty pleasant and not too expensive for the distance. A cab runs about 7 times as much :P
Uh, Keisei Skyliner has been around for years. :P I saw the station in Ueno 2.5 years ago, pretty sure I wasn't dreaming. ;) Just checked website, it gets to Tokyo 2 minutes faster than N'EX.
Post a Comment