Thunder Dolphin got new trains?

This just came across my Facebook feed. The restraints look like Pantheon's. Is the rolling stock the same as well? I wonder if this is Intamin responding to a market need and we'll start to see their hypers and gigas updated or if it's just a one off request for Thunder Dolphin.

Photo credit The Coaster Kings on Facebook.

It'll never happen, but I'd love for Millennium Force to get these trains. The current ones are fine from a riding perspective, but they take FOREVER for ops to check seatbelts with the IROC procedures.

So, the solution to slow ops is new trains. IROC should be fine, just need to replace the trains to make it work.....

They are supposedly fixing the lift speed next year so maybe new trains are part of that effort? It's a fever dream but what else do we do around here but speculate?

We also argue about semantics.

Also, if they do order new trains, they should so order a replacement green one.

I've been to Tokyo three times and twice that thing has been closed. Great ride and setting but it has had its fair share of problems.

The trains aren't built by Intamin, but it appears a third party made them to an Intamin design, perhaps with Intamin's involvement, I'm not sure.

Rick_UK:

I've been to Tokyo three times and twice that thing has been closed

Oof. Hopefully more reliable now with the new trains. While I don't expect much, we are tentatively planning our first trip to Japan this coming Spring and fingers crossed I can get on this thing. Always intrigued me for the setting alone.

Has anyone pulled a "let me rcdb that for you"? Trains are Hanwa Kogyo. And yeah, you can see the multiple extended closures for this ride, the first of which was more than 2 and half years. No reasons given, however.

I think Hanwa Kogyo just does manufacturing for other vendors such as Intamin and Gerstlauer. Does Intamin normally build their trains in house? Regardless, Intamin probably just sent them the plans and they fabricated the trains.

https://www.hanwa.co.jp/lei...index.html