Article by: anees

Spectacular view from "side open deck" car!

There are trains all over the country that sell views. There are "Romancecars" where you can enjoy the front view, and trolley trains where you can receive the natural breeze without installing side windows. However, Tosa Kuroshio Railway is the only open-deck vehicle like a passenger ship. What kind of vehicle is it?

9640 type special specification car!

　Of the Tosa Kuroshio Railways that run in Kochi Prefecture, the 9640 type (Kuroshiogata) railcar used on the I'm sorry Nahari line has interesting features. All 11 cars are divided into "special specification car", "normal specification car" and "zashiki compatible car".

　Of particular note is the "special specification car". This vehicle was manufactured in 2002 (Heisei 14), and unlike other vehicles, the rounded forehead like a whale is eye-catching.

And the sea side of the vehicle is an "open deck" that looks like a ship, separated from the cabin. It is not uncommon for passenger ships to have an open deck as a passage outside the cabin, and some railroad cars have open decks in the front and back. However, I think there is no other railroad car with an open deck on the side of the car.

　

 There are no side windows on the open deck, so you can enjoy the view of the Pacific Ocean while feeling the natural breeze. By the way, the fact that there is a drain on the floor is like an open deck of a ship.

　As a vehicle without side windows, trolley trains run all over the country, and although it has a wonderful view, it gets soaked in the rain. On some trolley trains, a place to evacuate from the rain may be secured by connecting ordinary coaches, but with the 9640 type "special specification car", if the weather is bad, the passengers on the side All you have to do is return to the room, and you can enjoy the view from there through the large side window with a width of 1.42 m.