Tsukuba Express

A Tsukuba Express train (type TX-2000)

The Tsukuba Express (つくばエクスプレス線, Tsukuba Ekusupuresu-sen^?), or TX, is a Japanese railway line of the Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company that links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was inaugurated on August 24, 2005. An extension through a deep tunnel to Tokyo Station is planned.

Route

• Administration: Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company
• Length: 58.3 km / 36.2 mi. from Akihabara Station to Tsukuba Station
• Stations: 20
• Gauge: 1067 mm / 3ft. 6in.
• Double-track line: Whole line
• Electric supply: Whole line
  • Akihabara – Moriya: 1500 V DC
  • Miraidaira – Tsukuba: 20000 V, 50 Hz AC
  • Dead section: Moriya - Miraidaira
• Block System: Automatic (ATO with ATC)
• Yard: Moriya Station

History

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.

The original schedule called for the line to begin operating in 2000, but delays resulted in a 2005 start.

Speed

The line has 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 operates on alternating current. For that reason, the trains include TX-1000 (DC cars which can operate between Akihabara and Moriya), and TX-2000 (cars with facilities for both DC and AC 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 2 six-car train (TX-1000 and TX-2000) 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 Chūō 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, Chūō-Sōbu 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

External links

• (English)Official Guide
• (Japanese)Official Site