New Train - Hankyu

OMG! A new train on Hankyu line! Yeah!!! It’s finally happened! Great!

…

Okay. Honestly, I don’t know why so many people were taking pictures here. I just happened to be on my way home, and saw a big crowd snapping pics of a train. So I copied them.

In Japanese they call this, 野次馬 (やじうま）, or a kind of, monkey see monkey do gawker.

I saw a lot of people running around taking pictures of the train from the front, the back, and through the windows. So I did the same. This isn’t the first time I have seen hordes of train photographers though.

Inside of the train were all kinds of devices. The sign on the train says 試運転 (しうんてん） which literally translates to “test drive”. I have never seen this sign on a train before, even though the English is translated to “out of service” just like a train would be if it were just turning in for the night.

I’m guessing here, but the computers and gadgets inside the train seem to be for measuring the performance of the test run. There was even a meter attached to the 手すり, those hand rings for passengers to keep their balance, I guess to measure the stability of the train while it was operating.

I heard some comments from ladies around saying things like “wow, look at the seats, they have dividers and you can just seat 3 people in there, looks nice!”

I dunno about the seats, but this kid sure looks excited.

I wonder when this thing will be in service? A better question, when it -is- in service, I wonder if I’ll even notice!

- Harvey