Kato adds The Royal Express luxury EMU to Japanese N gauge range

Kato’s June N gauge update split cleanly between two very different jobs: one is a polished showroom piece for a premium passenger scene, the other is a compact tram that can earn its keep on a small city layout. Item 10-2196 brings THE ROYAL EXPRESS into the lineup as an 8-car Izukyu 2100 Series set, while item 14-503-5 packages Hiroshima’s Green Liner prototype for tight-radius street running.

THE ROYAL EXPRESS is the headline release for collectors and operators who want a train with a strong prototype identity. Kato priced the special-planned set at ¥47,300 and scheduled release for November 2026. The real train debuted in 2017 after being created from the Izu Kyuko 2100 series 5th-batch “Alpha Resort 21,” and it normally runs between Yokohama and Izu Kyuko Shimoda. Since 2020 it has also appeared on limited schedules in Hokkaido, Shikoku and the Tokai area, sometimes as a shortened 5-car formation with cars 2, 3 and 7 omitted, and in some cases as a 6-car locomotive-hauled consist with a power car. Kato also notes that the real train has no sleeping accommodations, which helps define it as a luxury excursion EMU rather than a sleeper-style cruise train.

The model leans hard into that presentation value. Kato included working head, tail and fog lights, a slotless motor for smooth running, and interior details such as table lights and pianos visible in selected cars. The set is also being positioned for display alongside Kato’s E261 series Saphir Odoriko, a clue to the kind of contemporary Japanese passenger scene it is meant to anchor on a layout or shelf.

For modelers with less room, the Pocket Line release answers a different need. Item 14-503-5 is a two-car Hiroshima Electric Railway Type 3500 in Green Liner cream and green, priced at ¥6,600 for shipment in October 2026. Kato says the prototype was developed by the Japan Railway Engineers’ Association as a three-body articulated test vehicle for lightweight trains, and it introduced chopper control, regenerative braking and a dual-hand controller. The design later influenced Hiroshima Electric Railway types 800 and 3700, and earned the Green Liner nickname through service from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi via the Miyajima Line.

Kato gave the tram the kind of running characteristics that make Pocket Line useful on real layouts: a small coreless motor, stable low-speed performance and a minimum radius of R150. It is also recommended with the Hiroshima Electric Railway 1000 series Greenmover LEX and 200 series Hannover tram models. Put next to THE ROYAL EXPRESS, the contrast is the point: one release fills a premium intercity scene, the other slips into a compact street-running circuit and makes the most of every inch.