Safety x Security x Elegance x Future” Sotetsu has been promoting the “Design Up Project” since 2014. As part of this project, the company has been changing the body color to a custom-made “YOKOHAMA NAVY BLUE,” which is most noticeable to the casual observer. However, this is not just a project to change the appearance of the car body. Under the concept of “safe, secure, and elegant,” the project aims to improve the design standards of various areas, including trains, station buildings, and uniforms, in order to create a means of transportation that is comfortable and pleasant for everyone. About 12 years after the project started, the keyword “future” was added to the concept, and one of the concrete manifestations of the concept is the “new train that will carry the future of the railway line. Of course, “safety” is a top priority for those involved in transportation, and it is also important to be able to use the service with “peace of mind. The addition of the ideas of “elegance” and “future” to this is a way of enhancing the value of Sotetsu’s rail lines. In fact, since the “Yokohama Navy Blue” painted 12000 series trains started to enter the JR line, many people have been asking, “What in the world is that unfamiliar train? Is it a Sotetsu train? I hear that there have been cases of people being surprised. In other words, it has become a trigger to draw people’s attention to Sotetsu and its rail lines.
Why a new type of train? This 13000 Series is based on the 12000 Series already in use on the Sotetsu/JR direct line, but a new type was started as an 8-car train exclusively for use within the Sotetsu line. Therefore, the main equipment, driver’s cab, and other basic features are the same as those of the 12000 Series. This means that the new model can be introduced and operated without any sense of discomfort for those involved in operation and maintenance, and also provides the benefit of rationalization through the common use of spare parts. One might be tempted to ask, then, why the decision to create a new type of train, when an 8-car version of the Series 12000 could have been used. However, in the Series 12000, the side doors are positioned differently only immediately behind the driver’s cab of the lead car. If the lead car were to be used in an 8-car formation, the 8-car lead car would be positioned where the middle car would be in a 10-car formation, and the movable platform railings and side doors would not be aligned. The 13000 Series extended the overall length of the lead car by 800 mm and reviewed the dimensions around the driver’s cab to align the side doors with those of the intermediate car. As a result, the seating capacity of the lead car was increased by 6 seats. Incidentally, the position of the side doors of cars other than the 12000 series is basically the same for both the lead and intermediate cars, so this problem does not occur.
Barrier-free facilities appeal to a wide range of passengers Since the trains meet the latest standards for barrier-free access, all trains are equipped with free space for strollers and wheelchairs. Of course, there are also priority seats, which have two types of seating: one is common to the regular type of seating (but with a different pattern of moquette). The other is the “universal design seat,” which has a higher-than-usual seating position and a separate handrail to assist with standing and sitting. In recent years, newer trains have emerged from all over the country that incorporate innovations such as larger free spaces than before, with the aim of “appealing to the child-rearing generation. Sotetsu, on the other hand, seems to be trying to appeal to a wide range of people with its “user-friendliness” through facilities such as free space and universal design seats, rather than targeting only a specific demographic.
© Source travel watch