Kintetsu Fish Train

[bikkuri bahn]

NHK local segment on this unique train:

 

This hired train (sengyo ressha) is used to haul fresh fish from Mie Prefecture to market in Osaka. Every weekday it runs from Uji Yamada to Uehonmachi.  The vendors ride along with their product (2.5hrs one way), sell it in Osaka, and return in the evening.  The train is notable in that it uses the traditional Kintetsu solid red (crimson?) color (still the best!).

[ShinCanadaSen]

Pretty cool stuff. I like the guys napping on the train.

[Bernard]

BB - So they spend a total of 5 hrs on the train, how long do you think it takes them to sell their fish and also to prep it for the morning travel....it's seems like it would be a long day. Is it also 5 days a week or is it more?

[Nick_Burman]

Sugoi ne! "Traction freight" well and alive in the 21st century...good that it still runs, but wasn't this run once undertaken by box motors and trailers? "Electric Railways of Japan vol. 2" mentioned that Kintetsu had freight equipment specifically for the fish run.

 

Cheers NB

[cteno4]

very cool! be a fun one to model. remove most of the seats and put boxes in and the guys napping!

 

notice how well wrapped and tied the packages are!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

I'd've love to have seen this train last year. im surprised it even has regular seats in it, though could you imagine ring the train as a passenger a few hours later with the smell and all.

[Nick_Burman]

I'd've love to have seen this train last year. im surprised it even has regular seats in it, though could you imagine ring the train as a passenger a few hours later with the smell and all.

 

One can imagine the "pong" as my father used to say...

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this particular trainset is kept just for this run...

 

Cheers NB

[Guest ___]

I'd've love to have seen this train last year. im surprised it even has regular seats in it, though could you imagine ring the train as a passenger a few hours later with the smell and all.

 

One can imagine the "pong" as my father used to say...

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this particular trainset is kept just for this run...

 

Cheers NB

 

Then all those extra seats seem redundant. It would make sense to have shelving to secure the cargo.

[Nick_Burman]

 

Then all those extra seats seem redundant. It would make sense to have shelving to secure the cargo.

 

I don't think so. I wouldn't be surprised if Kintetsu makes very little money on this run and that it is kept going mainly for "political" or prestige reasons. In this case the cost of modifying a train just for it would most likely throw the run into the red. The amount of fish carried isn't that large to justify shelving anyway, and Kintetsu's track is smooth enough that the load does not need specialized stowage. If the amount were larger (and if Kintetsu were paid by weight carried, just as traction LCL used to be, which I believe is not the case) then a modified trainset would be of use - even maybe a train of refrigerated box motors/trailers with a passenger trailer for the fishermen. For now I believe Kintetsu uses this run to wring the last drops of use out of obsolete trainsets...

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

The train is essentially a hired run, much like a group hiring a tour bus to take them to a football match.  The group in this case is the Mie Prefecture fishermans association.  I assume Kintetsu runs this at least at cost, and as previously mentioned, probably keeps running it as a measure of goodwill and PR with Mie residents.  Personally if I were a fisherman/vendor, I'd prefer this to battling road traffic every morning and evening (a two hour snooze on a soft bench is pretty appealing).

[Guest ___]

Adding and removing seats doesn't take that much money.  I saw a Metro employee last Friday board my train they had stopped at Shady Grove, remove three seats and replaced them in under five minutes on the fly.  But as stated above if they do keep this train sets reserve for just this run then there would not be any reason why not to remove the seats. I also do not believe there are any other train sets on this line that is in this livery. I could easily be wring, but I had not seen this paint livery along a full day of shooting the line last year.

[cteno4]

aaron,

 

do you know the train type?

 

jeff

[bikkuri bahn]

aaron,

 

do you know the train type?

 

jeff

 

It is the 2680 series (a sub category of the 2600 series, which was built for express services on the Nagoya and Osaka Lines from 1970).  The 2680 series was the first Kintetsu non-limited express type fitted with air conditioning.

[cteno4]

Bikkurl Bahn,

 

thanks, turns out greenmax is releasing this very soon!

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10131328

 

damn thought i was done with new trains for a while... i love a train with a good story! also makes for a neat station scene with some guys there with carts...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Nick_Burman]

Adding and removing seats doesn't take that much money.  I saw a Metro employee last Friday board my train they had stopped at Shady Grove, remove three seats and replaced them in under five minutes on the fly.  But as stated above if they do keep this train sets reserve for just this run then there would not be any reason why not to remove the seats. I also do not believe there are any other train sets on this line that is in this livery. I could easily be wring, but I had not seen this paint livery along a full day of shooting the line last year.

 

Aaron, if you take the seats out, where will the fishermen sleep during the trip? The fact that you believe that this is the only train out on the line which still wears this livery only adds to the idea that this set is specially assigned to the run. But as BB said, this run is a charter which most likely is run at cost as a PR/goodwill exercise, so Kintetsu will not sink money to modify the train, no matter how cheap the mods might be. However I have to agree with BB, If I were a fisherman in Mie Prefecture I would really appreciate this service.

 

Cheers NB

[marknewton]

Sugoi ne! "Traction freight" well and alive in the 21st century...good that it still runs, but wasn't this run once undertaken by box motors and trailers? "Electric Railways of Japan vol. 2" mentioned that Kintetsu had freight equipment specifically for the fish run.

 

I don't know what freight stock they used, but back in 1984 the train was run by a two-car motor/trailer set numbered 601/502, IIRC.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

The train is notable in that it uses the traditional Kintetsu solid red (crimson?) color (still the best!).

 

Agreed! The older Kintetsu MU cars were very attractive looking trains, IMO.

 

Out of interest, here's a photo of one of my favourite Kintetsu cars, the 680 series, which I believe were originally Nara Electric Railway cars.

 

 

Notice the red lights visible near the leading doors on both cars. I'm assuming these were to indicate that the doors were open/closed?

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[bikkuri bahn]

I'm assuming these were to indicate that the doors were open/closed?

 

Yes, that's correct.  They light up when the doors are open.

[marknewton]

Thanks, BB. Nice to see how far behind the rest of the world we are here in NSW. We still run trains that have no external indication of what the doors are doing. If there is a failure or the doors are obstructed, the guard has to ask the driver to identify the offending door via his TMS - train management system - screen.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[cteno4]

fish train has been delayed from feb release to now late may.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

its in stock now! hopefully mine hits the air soon!

 

jeff

[miyakoji]

by YT contributor Dotaku

 

[cteno4]

Miyakoji,

 

thanks for the video. fun to see. its a nice little model but will need to have a platform with a bunch of guys standing there with their boxes to complete the story! love trains with an interesting story like this.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Sacto1985]

The train is essentially a hired run, much like a group hiring a tour bus to take them to a football match.  The group in this case is the Mie Prefecture fishermans association.  I assume Kintetsu runs this at least at cost, and as previously mentioned, probably keeps running it as a measure of goodwill and PR with Mie residents.  Personally if I were a fisherman/vendor, I'd prefer this to battling road traffic every morning and evening (a two hour snooze on a soft bench is pretty appealing).

 

Given the fuel cost in Japan even for a small truck--not to mention the silly pricing for traveling on toll limited access highways from various points in Mie Prefecture back to Osaka--I'm not surprised Kintetsu is still running this train. And because this is a charter train, they could run it with "Limited Express" priority to and from Osaka.