FUKUOKA -- The transportation bureau in this southwestern Japan city is preparing to introduce new "4000 series" commuter trains that an official says are "the most comfortable" in the country.

This will be the first time for the Fukuoka City Transportation Bureau to introduce new trains on Fukuoka City Subway's Airport Line and Hakozaki Line since 1997. A total of 18 six-car trains will be introduced in sequence between this autumn and fiscal 2027. One of them was unveiled to the press at the Meinohama rail yard in the city's Nishi Ward on Oct. 23.

The 4000 series' features include unusually wide, comfortable seats. Inside the cars, glass is used for partitions by the doors, overhead racks and doors between cars to give passengers a sense of spaciousness the moment they board. Some of the priority seats have higher seating surfaces than usual to reduce the burden of standing up and sitting.

Because they run along the sea, the sixth car of the trains has large windows that are easy for even little children to see outside, and the seats are arranged for passengers with children and strollers plus wheelchair users to feel comfortable.

Sets of three large screens have been installed to display information. Each car has security cameras at four locations, allowing real-time monitoring from the driver's cab and the transportation bureau's control center to quickly grasp the situation on the trains.

Satoru Murata, the 46-year-old chief of the transportation bureau's rolling stock division, commented, "We are confident that they are the most comfortable commuter trains in Japan. It's also quiet inside, so we hope passengers will make good use of their travel time."

(Japanese original by Hibiki Yamaguchi, Kyushu News Department)