Meitetsu KiHa 8500 series

The Meitetsu KiHa 8500 series (名鉄キハ8500系) is a limited express diesel multiple unit operated by Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) in Japan from 1991 to 2001, by Aizu Railway from 2002 to 2010, and then by Sabah State Railway since October 2016.[1]

Meitetsu KiHa 8500 series
A KiHa 8500 series train in 1992
In service	1991 – 2001 (Meitetsu) 2002 – 2010 (Aizu Railway) 2016 – Present (Sabah State Railway)
Manufacturer	Nippon Sharyo
Replaced	KiHa 8000 series
Constructed	1991
Entered service	16 March 1991
Scrapped	2007
Number built	5 vehicles
Number in service	2 vehicles
Number preserved	2 vehicles
Number scrapped	1 vehicle (8555)
Formation	Single car
Fleet numbers	8501–8504, 8555
Capacity	60 (end cars) 68 (intermediate cars)
Operator(s)	Nagoya Railroad, Aizu Railway, Sabah State Railway
Line(s) served	Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, Takayama Main Line
Specifications
Car body construction	Steel
Car length	20,800 mm (68 ft 3 in)
Width	2,740 mm (9 ft 0 in)
Height	3,640 mm (11 ft 11 in)
Doors	One per side
Maximum speed	120 km/h
Prime mover(s)	Cummins NTA-855-R1
Transmission	C-DW14
Bogies	ND-719
Braking system(s)	Air
Safety system(s)	Meitetsu ATS, ATS-S
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

History

The trains were manufactured in 1990 to replace aging KiHa 8000 series diesel railcars that entered service in 1965, in light of newer diesel railcars being manufactured by various companies.[2]

Five cars were manufactured by Nippon Sharyo in 1991 based on the KiHa 85 series built by the same company and used by JR Central, and entered service the same year, replacing all remaining KiHa 8000 series diesel railcars on Northern Alps services. When they were in service with Meitetsu, they were used on the Northern Alps and Hida services.

However, in 2000, a high-speed bus service connecting Nagoya Station and Takayama Station was introduced. With the introduction of the bus service, the ridership of the Northern Alps service was halved, and Meitetsu saw that there was no point keeping the five cars due to inefficiency when compared with the bus service. Due to this, all five cars were retired from service on 30 September 2001, the same day when the Northern Alps service was abolished.[3]

All five cars were later sold to the Aizu Railway that same year, and began operations on the Aizu Railway on 23 March 2002.[4] As the KiHa 8500 series were designed for high-speed operation, problems with the KiHa 8500 series started to surface when in service on the Aizu Railway, which resulted in deterioration of parts due to the frequent station stops the cars had to make.[5] As such, the cars were retired on 30 May 2010 and replaced by newer AT-700 series railcars the same day.[6] The cars were actually supposed to make a special final run on 26 and 27 March 2011 as part of an event, but said event was cancelled due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[7]

Overseas operations

Cars 8502 and 8503 were shipped to Sabah State Railway in mid-August 2015.[1] Both cars were repainted and refurbished from February to March 2016. 8502 entered service on 27 October 2016 and is used on Sabah State Railway's Kelas Pertama ("first class" in Malay) services. 8503 is slated to begin operation in fiscal 2017.[8]

Preserved examples

Cars 8501 and 8504 are preserved in operational condition by Nakagawa Seiryu Tetsudo Hozonkai in Nasukarasuyama.[9]

Individual cars

The 5 individual cars that were built are as follows:

KiHa 8501

This car was facing the Toyohashi end and is equipped with a toilet and washroom.[10] This car has been preserved.

KiHa 8502

This car was facing the Takayama end and is equipped with a toilet and washroom.[10] This car is in service with the Sabah State Railway.

KiHa 8503

This car is practically identical to car 8501, but is only inserted into a trainset when required.[10] This car is in service with the Sabah State Railway.

KiHa 8504

This car was an additional car meant to face the Takayama end, and is equipped with vending machines and a public telephone. Like car 8503, it is only inserted into a trainset when required.[10] This car has been preserved.

KiHa 8555

This was an intermediate car equipped with vending machines and a public telephone.[10] This car has been scrapped as of 31 March 2007.[11]

See also

• Media related to Meitetsu KiHa 8500 series at Wikimedia Commons

Notes

This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

References

1. (in Japanese) Hua Sheng Trading Inc. (Archived) Retrieved 26 April 2017.
2. Railway Journal (issue 294) April 1991 edition, pages 116–119
3. Railway Journal (issue 422) December 2001 edition, page 90
4. Railway Journal (issue 423) January 2002 edition, page 107
5. Railway Journal (issue 526) August 2010 edition, page 142
6. Railway Journal (issue 526) August 2010 edition, page 143
7. “（中止） AIZUマウントエクスプレス キハ8500「ラストラン」運転体験ができます！” [(Canceled) Experience the Last Run of the Aizu Mount Express KiHa 8500 series!]. Aizu Railway (in Japanese). Japan. December 2010. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
8. REPORT マレーシア・ボルネオ島のサバ州立鉄道 [Report on the Sabah State Railway in Borneo, Malaysia]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. March 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
9. 保存車両 軌間1067mm [Preserved 1,067mm vehicles]. Nakagawa Seiryu Tetsudo Hozonkai (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
10. Toyama, Hiroaki (April 1991). 名鉄8500形特急気動車登場 [Meitetsu KiHa 8500 series Limited Express DMU has appeared]. Japan Railfan Magazine. No. 360. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. pp. 43–48.
11. Railway Journal (issue 493) November 2007 edition, page 136