The Kobe City Subway 1000 series is a Japanese city commuter electric multiple unit operated by the Kobe Municipal Transport Bureau from March 1977 to August 2023 on the Kobe City Subway Seishin-Yamate Line.
History[]
The 1000 series sets were the first rolling stock to operate on the Kobe City Subway, with 108 cars in total built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Hyōgo from 1977 to 1989. The sets first entered service on 13 March 1977 with the opening of the Seishin-Yamate Line, initially as four-car sets. The sets were notably the first fully air-conditioned subway trains in the entirety of Japan, followed shortly after by the Nagoya Municipal Subway 3000 series cars, also fully air-conditioned. Trains were extended to five cars in 1983, and finally six in 1989 with further line extensions; intermediate cars were newly manufactured and inserted into previous sets to lengthen them. In 1997, refurbishment works began and were completed in 2012.
In 2016, the Kobe Municipal Transport Bureau announced that new 6000 series sets would begin to replace the rolling stock on the line beginning 2019, with a goal to replace all existing rolling stock by 2022. Retirements of this series began in 2018, with 1101, the first set manufactured, the first to be retired. Six sets remained in service as of November 2021; the last set, 1118, was retired on 17 August 2023 with the introduction of a revised timetable.
Due to its outstanding technological features, particularly with regards to its air conditioning systems, the 1000 series sets were the recipient of the 1978 Laurel Prize.
Design[]
The 1000 series cars use a conventional design with vertically mounted headlights. The paintscheme of the trains are largely based on that of the now-defunct Kobe City Tram.
Specifications[]
Construction of the cars is of an aluminum alloy. The sets initially used an a chopper control system which produced a buzzing sound. During refurbishments, these were changed to Hitachi later-spec GTO drives and later Hitachi IGBT drives.
Preservation[]
The following 1000 series cars have been preserved:
| Number | Manufacturer | Date manufactured | Date retired | Previous sets | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1101 | Kawasaki Heavy Industries | February 1976 | March 2019 | 1101 | Myōdani Depot, Kobe, Japan | First car built; viewing possible on depot open days |
| Kobe City Subway rolling stock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Seishin-Yamate Line | 6000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kaigan Line | 5000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hokushin Line | 6000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Withdrawn | Seishin-Yamate Line | 1000 • 2000 • 3000 • 7000 • 7000-A | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hokushin Line | 7000 • 7000-A | |||||||||||||||||||||||