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All the necessary dependencies are either included in this package or are avaible on the DLS. Soundscript by Rizky_Adiputra.
(Consists are included! Don’t bother with placing individual cars!)
The 6300 Series was introduced in the early 1990s both to replace the ageing and obsolete 6000 Series and also in preparation for the opening of the long-awaited Mita Line extension from Mita to Meguro, where it would’ve connected with the Tokyu Meguro Line.
The 6000 Series, the original Mita Line trains were quite modern when they were introduced in 1968 with the line’s opening, and had whitstood their intense service years quite well, meaning that they were still in a relatively good condition by the 1990s, even if their design had become obsolete. Depsite this, the key factor that spelt the end for the 6000 Series was the extension to Meguro, wich was to be built jointly with the TRTA Namboku Line, opened in 1991 using state-of-the-art technology such as platform screen doors and automatic train operation – the new section was to be built to Namboku Line standards and as such to travel on it the 6000 Series trains would’ve needed to be fitted with all the necessary signalling and ATO equipment, let alone fine-tuning them to match the performance of the radically different TRTA 9000 Series, something that is already difficult and expensive on modern trains, let alone on the 1960s-era 6000 Series.
Hence, since it made no economic sense to adapt the nearly life-expired 6000 Series, Toei proceeded to order up-to-date trains for the Mita Line.
Designated as the 6300 Series, the new Mita Line trains were designed and built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, using a manufacturing tecnique and stainless steel bodyshell design that the company was perfecting for JR East’s upcoming 209 Series. According to Toei, the rounded front FRP mask, incorporating the mandatory emergency exit for subway trains, was designed to convey a sense of speed, “high-tech” and “near-future”.
Equipment-wise, the 6300 Series was of course intended to be as close to the TRTA 9000 Series as possible, sharing the same traction equipment (a GTO-VVVF inverter made by Hitachi), signalling and ATO systems, driving desks and some interior design cues – the interior itself was based on the Asakusa Line 5300 Series, then Toei’s newest train.
Finally, the livery was mostly painted in the Mita Line’s strong blue, but with a red accent to simbolize “Toei’s passion” and the pleasant “gingko leaf” green logos of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, applied on the front and between the cab and the first passenger door.
The first five completed 6300 Series trains, formed as 6-car sets, were delivered to Shimura depot in May 1993, entering regular revenue services (after a couple of demonstration runs) on the 23rd of June. These were followed by a second batch of eight 6-car sets delivered in 1994, with the last one entering in service by July of that year. These second batch trains differed very little from the 1st batch one, with the few notable differences being a different front skirt desing and the addition of a “horn”-style radiotelephone antenna besides the distinctive inductive loop one.
Finally, to completely replace the 6000 Series in preparation of the extension to Meguro and the subsequent start trough-services with the Meguro Line, Toei placed an order for 24 additional 6-car set, nearly tripling the existing fleet, wich were delivered between 1999 and 2000. Unlike the second, the 3rd batch fetaured a few notable changes – namely the inverter was changed to a newer Mitsubishi Electric IGBT-VVVF, the radio antennas were modified again and the skirt design was changed yet one more time.
With enough 6300 Series trains available, the old 6000 Series could finally be retired, with the last train making it’s final run on the 28th of November. Shortly afterwards, the Mita Line switched from wayside colour-light signals to the same in-cab ATC system as the Namboku Line, and finally, on the 26th of September 2000 the long-awaited extension to Meguro opened, and trough-services with the Tokyu Meguro Line began.
Since, then the 6300 Series has lived a tranquil and uneventful life on the Mita Line, with the 1st and 2nd batches undergoing a small mid-life renewal. However, in recent years, with the advancement of the Sotetsu Link Line project, wich will involve connecting Sotetsu Railway’s network with JR East and the Tokyu Meguro Line, enabling trough-services between them. Toei immediately took the opportunity to insert the Mita Line in this project as well, and with an higher ridership expected, the current 6-car trains might be inadequate. Furthemore, by now the 1st and 2nd batch 6300 Series are now nearly 30 years old, therefore Toei decided to order a successor for the 6300 Series. This successor came in the form of the hideous 6500 Series, formed in 8-car sets and already predisposed to recieve the necessary signalling equipment for Sotetsu trough-services.
Initially, the 6500 Series were meant only to replace the thirteen sets of the 1st and 2nd batch 6300 Series, with the 24 sets of the third-batch, due to their more modern equipment and younger age were to be adapted to the new trough-service. However, this will be rather costly, with Toei being increasingly reluctant to proceed with such workings – the bureau is currently eyeing the possibility of a straight replacement of the still perfectly adequate 6300 Series with the newer trains, mirroring, in a strange tale of historical irony, what had happened 20 years earlier with the 6000 Series, themselves replaced because they would’ve been too costly to replace.
However, until the final decision is made, the 6300 Series will remain in service for the forseeable future, shuttling commuters between Nishi-Takashimadaira on the Mita Line and Hiyoshi on the Tokyu Meguro Line.
Trivia:
On the first two batches, the manufacturer plate lists the manufacturing date using the Japanese Era system (in this case Heisei 5 and Heisei 6), while the third batch trains use the western anno domini system (1999 and 2000).
