Osaka Metro 400 series

The Osaka Metro 400 series is an electric multiple unit built by Hitachi Rail for Osaka Metro, the first new rolling stock type ordered after the privatization of the Osaka municipal transportation bureau. It entered service on 25 June 2023, with 23 six-car sets planned ahead of the 2025 World Expo to replace the older 20 and 24 series trains on the Chuo Line. Ken Okuyama oversaw the design, which gives the front end an octagonal shape and clustered headlights meant to recall a spaceship. The sets use aluminium bodies, a lower floor than their predecessors, longitudinal seating throughout apart from one car with transverse seats, and passenger displays in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. The first set left Hitachi Kasado plant in October 2022.