We then rode in the running test train to Gokurakubashi Station, and this report describes the interior of the train, the stops along the way, and the welcome at Gokurakubashi Station.
After a safety ceremony at Namba Station, the test train was driven to Gokurakubashi Station for a test run. The train schedule was the same as that of the “GRAN Tenku No. 3,” which has been in operation since its launch, departing Namba at 12:45 pm and arriving at Gokurakubashi at 14:20 pm. Therefore, although the doors do not open at the stops along the way, the train stops on time.
At Kutoyama Station, children from nearby elementary schools welcomed GRAN Tenku by waving GRAN Tenku flags. The Kishu-Kudozan Sanada-Daiko Preservation Society also gave a brave taiko performance, and the Kishu-Kudozan Handmade Armor Sanada-tai welcomed the guests.
At Kinokawa, the train slowed down considerably, and an announcement was made in the train to introduce the train’s route. It was also announced that the town of Kutoyama, located on the south bank of the Kino River, has close ties to Masayuki Sanada and Yukimura Sanada, father and son.
The test train ride was held on the round trip from Namba to Gokurakubashi. For a while after the train departed, many members of the press crowded around to take pictures and ask questions of the staff, but in the meantime, the train entered Wakayama Prefecture from Osaka, and the scenery along the line changed from residential to rural to mountainous.
Welcome ceremony at Gokurakubashi Station. President Kajitani: “An express train worthy of the new NANKAI.
Shortly after arriving at Gokurakubashi Station, a “welcoming ceremony” for GRAN Tenku was held inside the station. The attendees included Mitsuhiko Tohkita, Chairman and CEO of NANKAI, Nobuyuki Okajima, President and COO of NANKAI, Tomoshi Kajitani, President of Nankai Electric Railway, Yasunobu Imagawa, Superintendent of Kongobuji Temple, and Junko Koshino, as in the ceremony held in Namba. In addition, Minoru Yoshida, General Manager of the Operation and Rolling Stock Department of Nankai Railway’s Railway Division, and Yoshikazu Taniguchi, Koyasan Station Manager, also took the stage.
When asked by the moderator what she thought of the train, Junko Koshino commented on the experience, “There are trains like this all over the world, and I was convinced that this is what I had hoped for in Japan as well. We were also welcomed by children at the station, which was a new experience for me,” he said. As for the food, he said he enjoyed the feeling of a ryotei restaurant running through the train, and stated that he thinks the GRAN Tenku is a train that allows passengers to enjoy the total experience (of the trip), including the food.
Mr. Imagawa of Kongobuji Temple, following the prayer for safe operation at Namba Station, handed over the sacred talisman for safe operation of Kongobuji Temple to Chairman Tohkita here. about his impression of GRAN Tenku, he smiled, “I always take the Nankai Koya Line when coming to Koyasan, but today I think I saw a different scenery from usual”. The food was also excellent. The food was so good that the usual one and a half hour ride seemed shorter than usual. He concluded, “I hope that visitors to the sacred Koya-san can also enjoy this new scenery.
When asked about the GRAN Tenku train design as a designer, Mr. Koshino responded that it was something new to go to a traditional place like Koyasan with such a modern train design. When asked if he would like to design a train car, he replied, “I will do it from now on. I am going to do it,” he replied with a laugh.
Nankai Electric Railway President Kajitani commented on his expectations for the GRAN Tenku, saying, “The meals and services offered on board are unprecedented, and we would like to make it one of the brands befitting the new NANKAI, which started on April 1 under a new corporate structure (Nankai Electric Railway Co. We would like to make it one of our brands as an express train suitable for the new NANKAI, which has just started. For passengers, he said, “I hope that they will enjoy the scenery along the way to Koyasan and at the same time enjoy delicious food, and feel the charm of train travel.
© Source travel watch