In March 1991, a third-sector company, Metropolitan New Urban Railway Company, was established with investment from the local governments along the line.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and three prefectures (Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, and Ibaraki) applied to the three ministers of transportation, construction, and local government for approval of the basic plan based on the Railway Construction Law, and the plan was approved in October of the same year. JR East, which was originally scheduled to be the operator, decided not to participate in the project, and Metropolitan Intercity Railway was granted a Type 1 Railway Business License in January 1992. The Tsukuba Express will open on August 24, 2005. |
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The total length of the line is 58.3 km, connecting Akihabara and Tsukuba stations in 45 minutes (rapid transit).
The maximum operating speed is 130km/h (normally 125km/h).
All lines are operated by Automatic Train Control System ( ATC, ATO, TASC) and automatic operation with platform doors, and one-man operation is available on all lines.
Tsukuba Express is electrified with 1.5kV DC between Akihabara and Moriya stations and 20kV/50Hz AC between Moriya and Tsukuba stations.
The reason for using both AC and DC power is due to concerns about the effect on geomagnetic observations at the JMA Geomagnetic Observatory in Kakioka, Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
There is a dead section between Moriya and Miraidaira stations, where the trains automatically switch between alternating and direct current while coasting. This is the same for the JR Joban Line.
All lines are elevated, dugout, or underground, and there are no level crossings. The equipment, including the safety devices, is said to be capable of operating at a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The service of FLET’S SPOT (NTT East) was started in November 2006 in all sections of TX-2000 series, and you can use public wireless LAN in the train.
For more information, please click here. To use this service, you need to sign up for FLET’S SPOT. Click here for the recommended site for information on Tsukuba Express train lines. |
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Tsukuba Express Festival 2011
The 7th Tsukuba Express Festival 2011 was held at the Tsukuba Express Railway Station on November 3, 2011. The festival was full of events such as a tour of the driver’s cab, a ride on the car wash platform, a look under the train floor (equipment), an exhibition of trains with head marks, an exhibition and demonstration of maintenance vehicles, and so on. The official announcement of the day is here ( PDF). The pamphlet is here (PDF). |
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Tsukuba Express Railway Station
The Tsukuba Express General Base, located on the north side of Moriya Station of the Metropolitan New Transit Railway Tsukuba Express, has a total area of 186,936,8 m2. 84 TX-1000 series cars and 120 TX-2000 series cars are inspected and repaired at the base, and legal inspection, car body cleaning and driver training facilities are also located at the base. The base is located near Moriya Station. The reason why the base is located near Moriya Station is because Moriya Station is on the boundary between the DC section (between Akihabara and Moriya Stations) and the AC section (between Moriya and Tsukuba Stations). Also, TX-1000 series is for DC only and TX-2000 series is for both AC and DC, so both of them can directly connect to each other if they are south of Moriya Station. |
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