Kintetsu 6000 series group
Data (as of 12 Jan 2024)
| Status: | Vulnerable |
| Constructed in: | 1963-78 |
| Number built: | 172 |
| Registered: | 124 |
History
This article is about the following types of trains: 6000, 6020, 6200 and 16200 series. However, this article does NOT refer to Yoro Railway 600 and 620 series, many of which were converted from the 6000 series group.
The four types of the 6000 series group are commuter trains for lines with track gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). They were introduced to Minami Osaka Line and relevant branch lines to replace older trains introduced in the 1920s. The 6000 series trains were painted orange with white bands at first, but repainted maroon in 1968, and then repainted again to the current livery in the late-1980s.
The 6000 series was called New Rabbit Car and first introduced in 1963. Each unit was initially formed of three coaches and called 6900 series, but renumbered to 6000 series by 1966. In 1968, an intermediate carriage was inserted so that not a few units became four-car. The 6000 series was withdrawn in 2002, but 15 carriages were transferred to Yoro Railway, where they are called 600 series.
The 6020 series was introduced in 1968-73 with 99 carriages in total. It is almost identical to the 6000 series but has better ventilators. Each unit is formed of three or four coaches. Air-conditioners were installed to all carriages by 1984. Several carriages were withdrawn by 2004 and some of them were transferred to Yoro Railway (as 620 series).
The 6200 series is also almost the same as the 6020 series but has had air-conditioning since the introduction. 38 carriages were delivered in 1974-78 and each unit is formed of, again, either three or four coaches. A four-car unit was converted in 2016 to a sightseeing train called Blue Symphony, which is now called 16200 series.
Current Operations & Future Prospects
The 6020 and 6200 series are used for various trains from Express to stopping services on Gose, Minami Osaka, Nagano and Yoshino Lines. The 16200 series runs as Limited Express Blue Symphony (Osaka-Abenobashi-Yoshino) everyday except on Wednesdays.
Kintetsu is going to introduce brand new trains from Autumn 2024 to replace "old trains introduced in the 1960s" so that the 6000 series could be affected with that.