12-car formations, bi-level green cars on Chuo Line in 2023 (was 2020)

[railsquid]

8 minutes ago, JR 500系 said:

Haha interesting indeed ~ So is the Chuo line going to be extended with 2 bi-level green cars? Are all the current platforms on the Chuo line able to support 12 cars? Not so sure about smaller stations esp like Yotsuya  or Nakano..

 

Have you tried reading back through the thread?

 

The linked video is from Jan 2020, so somewhat out-of-date; if you check e.g. Kunitachi at this point in the video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzjNZW40EeA&t=2016s

 

you can just about see the girders for the platform extensions. A fair amount of work has been carried out since on many stations (see e.g. my post here).

  

8 minutes ago, JR 500系 said:

 

 dont know why but i love the Chuo line... something abt it appeals to me alot... 

 

excellent taste!

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by railsquid

[JR 500系]

2 minutes ago, railsquid said:

 

Have you tried reading back through the thread?

 

haha yeah i missed the first page! it also looked like some works had already started to length the platforms... 

 

The service on the Chuo line has such an attraction to me that i wanna start memorising them haha ~ I could work my way through my mind till Mitaka only... The mushashi confuses me with the higashi and the sakai ~ I always wanted to ride the Chuo line to Kawaguchi-ko, and will be sure to mark it off my bucket list on my next trip!

[railsquid]

- Musashi-Sakai

- Higashi-Koganei

- Musashi-Koganei

 

The latter two not to be confused with Hana-Koganei on the Seibu Shinjuku line.

 

😄

[JR 500系]

Here's more info on the preparation of the 12-car Chuo line, (though in Japanese)...

 

 

[JR 500系]

And here's the official train set for the Chuo line 12-car set, and nope, it's not a E233 ~

 

 

[railsquid]

This is someone's fantasy, not real news.

[katoftw]

Still has some blue on the nose and cream down the sides.

[HankyuDentetsu]

On 3/24/2021 at 12:14 PM, JR 500系 said:

 

haha yeah i missed the first page! it also looked like some works had already started to length the platforms... 

 

The service on the Chuo line has such an attraction to me that i wanna start memorising them haha ~ I could work my way through my mind till Mitaka only... The mushashi confuses me with the higashi and the sakai ~ I always wanted to ride the Chuo line to Kawaguchi-ko, and will be sure to mark it off my bucket list on my next trip!

The Chuo line from Tokyo-Takao is one of the two coolest urban lines in Japan (in my opinion) - the other being the urban stretch of the Special Rapid Service (Maibara to Himeji I guess). 

 

There is literally nothing better than high frequency double-tracked urban rail with a Japanese flavour!

[bill937ca]

This was filmed two months ago showing platform extension work at Kichijoji Station  on Chuo Main Line. Perhaps the double deck green cars will be in operation by March 2024 (end of fiscal 2023).

 

 

[katoftw]

How many stations actually needed to be extended?

[bill937ca]

Work is continuing. On Saturday May13th service on the Ome Line will be suspended from 1730 to the last train.    Trains will not run between Ome and Kebe. Trains on each side of the work area will reverse and serve the rest of the line.

 

"All service will be suspended between Kabe and Ōme stations due to track switching work at Higashi-Ōme Station to prepare for the start of Green Car service on the Chūō Line (Rapid).        *If work cannot be done due to bad weather or other reasons, it will be done on 6-3 (Sat.)."

 

JR East notice with English PDF.       https://www.jreast.co.jp/hachioji/ome-koji/

Edited May 3, 2023 by bill937ca

[railsquid]

A set with the double-deck cars was parked up at Toyoda depot the other day.

 

On 5/4/2023 at 6:12 AM, katoftw said:

How many stations actually needed to be extended?

 

Pretty much all of them.

[bikkuri bahn]

The green cars were shown to the press today:

 

[Beaver]

Very nice. I always thought the Shonan pumpkin stripes looked too busy and cluttered on a double decker but the plainer Chuo scheme of just orange stripes works very well.

[railsquid]

FWIW this set (or one like it) has been hanging around in the Toyoda depot for a while.

[HankyuDentetsu]

Getting your company to stump up for a Green Car seat as you commute each day from Takao, Hachijoji, Tachikawa or somewhere suitably far out-west into central Tokyo is surely like winning the lottery... I'd trade working from home for that commute any time!

 

How does ticketing for this work (and by extension all other services that offer a similar green car setup)? Presumably the vast majority of passengers travelling on these tickets will have them paid for by their company as part of their commute, so what happens if the service they choose happens to be full? I presume they don't have to reserve the seat in advance?

[railsquid]

The ticketing for these kinds of "Green Cars" is basically you put your Suica in the special ticket machine (usually on the platform), pay for the section you want to travel in the "Green Car" (or have a "Green" commuter pass). You can also pay on the train, but that costs more. After boarding touch the panel in the ceiling above your seat which changes the little red light from red to green (or the other way round, can't recall) which "reserves" the seat. You can "touch out" and "touch in" if you wish to move seats. No advance reservation possible, which makes it a bit of a gamble at peak hours. Not sure if refunds are possible if you can't use the "Green Car".

[bikkuri bahn]

Refunds are available, but you have to first tell the green car attendant, who checks if you haven't activated the ticket, and then you can move to a regular section of the train.  Get the refund at the station you got off.  Note that it does cost the green car fee to stand in the aisle or vestibule area of the green car.

 

I would guess it is a generous company that pays for a green car season pass.  Even if you can't get a seat on the AM commute, it may be worth it on the ride home, especially if you get on the train at its origin station, where snagging a seat is probably easier.

 

For those who don't want the uncertainty of green car seats during peak commute times, there are the reserved seat liner trains on some mainlines.

[bill937ca]

Chuo Line green car trial run passing Osaki Station. Four green cars!!

 

 

[HankyuDentetsu]

Cheers for the responses guys - really insightful and now I understand how green cars on limited express services work! @bikkuri bahn I agree it'd be a generous employer indeed, but I'm sure there are plenty of very senior execs that live in Western Tokyo which could command such luxury from their company 🙂