Series 203 miscellany

[bikkuri bahn]

Last Sunday, taking advantage of JR East's weekend pass rover ticket, I took a trip to the Japan Sea side from Tokyo via the Chuo, Shinonoi, and Shinetsu Lines.  Passing through Nagano, I caught a glimpse of some soon to be scrapped rolling stock at the depot there (the Nagano depot is the main scrapping facility for life-expired JR East stock).  Notably I saw a 203 series trainset, rather than the usual 113 series.  Now I knew the Joban Line inner services have seen upgraded rolling stock, but seeing such relatively newer units bound for the furnace or scrap heap piqued my interest.

Hauled to Nagano for scrapping (Kai Yamato Station):

 

Next day, after visiting the Hitachinaka Kaihin Rlwy in Ibaraki, I got off the Joban Line rapid at Abiko to take the local train.  First I rode a new Tokyo Metro 16000 series as far as Toride.

 

Then at Toride, I managed to catch a 203 series.  Classic early eighties JNR interiors, and the bodies are aluminum, including the doors, which rattle quite bit when the train is at speed.  But I like the traction motor sound of these units.  The MT60 motors are geared higher than otherwise similar 201 series, to increase acceleration between closely spaced stations on the Chiyoda Subway Line(3.3km/h/s rather than the 2.5km/h/s on the 201's), which these units operate on run-throughs.  Anyway, the traction roar is good on these units, music to this fan's ears and to someone who doesn't really like inverter traction sound.  Apparently the drivers really notch up the throttles quickly on these runs, which has led to railfans dubbing the sound of the MT60's as "jets".  Does really sound like a turbine, but judge for yourself(between Ayase and Kita Senju):

 

It seems some of these units will be sent to Jakarta, Indonesia (this year?) like so many other ex-JNR and Tokyo Metro stock.  Hopefully the passengers there will exercise better safety practices on these than they do with the ex-Tokyu units :

http://gigazine.jp/img/2010/10/19/jakarta_train/train_travel_jakarta_06.jpg

[miyakoji]

About the scrapped 203s, according to the wikipedia pages about the E233 and Matsudo Rolling Stock Center, they've only got 1 E233-2000 10-car set, but from 2011 they'll get 17 more 10-car sets.  JR East must be liking their intentionally short-life rolling stock.  I do like that motor sound of the 203, I don't think I was ever on one.

 

That Metro 16000 is on JR East track there right?  Does a JR crew take that out to Toride or does a Metro crew stay on it?

[bikkuri bahn]

That Metro 16000 is on JR East track there right?  Does a JR crew take that out to Toride or does a Metro crew stay on it?

 

Yes.  I think the crews are JR between Toride and Kita Senju, and then Metro on the Chiyoda Line.  At least that's the system I've seen on other run-through operations.

 

The 203's haven't seen much coverage in the railfan press, apparently they have never been very popular.  I like them better than the 201 series, though I admit I like the green 201's used in Kansai for some reason...