Pininfarina designs Nankai's new airport express for Osaka's Naniwasuji Line

Nankai Electric Railway has announced a new airport express for the Naniwasuji Line, partnering with Italian design house Pininfarina—famed for Ferrari—in its first Japanese railway design project. The current Rapi:t airport express, linking Namba to Kansai Airport since 1994 with a "retro-future" design by the late architect Hiroyuki Wakabayashi, has carried roughly 76 million passengers. Pininfarina, founded in 1930, has styled over 1,450 vehicles and trains, including the ETR500 and Eurostar e320. The Naniwasuji Line, slated to open in 2031, will link Osaka's Umeda area to JR Namba via Nishihommachi, operated by JR West and Nankai. The new trains will bear Pininfarina's emblem; further details are forthcoming.