Following the outline report of the chartered train event on the Izukyu line, I'm going to be more specific about this chartered train today.
The train, which we chartered from Izukyu Railway, was set TB-7 of the EMU 8000 series. The 8000 series was originally commissioned in 1969 on the Tokyu-Toyoko line. The 8000 series became the big force on the Tokyu lines, but it was then replaced by the new models step by step. The final set was eventually retired from the track in 2008. After retirement from Tokyu, 24 cars were moved to Indonesia; meanwhile, 45 cars were transferred to Izukyu to spend a new life.
Set TB-7 of the 8000 series is a 3-car train on the Izukyu line. Its technical specification is rather old, but it's still one of the leading players on the line. Set TB-7 has stainless-steel bodies without any coloring. We chartered this train, and temporarily changed its front color design to that of the Indonesian Railway namely red and yellow. It was beautiful under the autumn sunshine.
When I was in high school, I used the 8000 series on the Tokyu-Toyoko line every day to go to school. I then ran into the 8000 series again in Jakarta, Indonesia, when I was stationed there 14 years ago. The local railway operator in Jakarta was pursuing the modernization of the trains, and introduced the second-hand 8000 series from Tokyu at that time. I'm probably inseparable from the 8000 series.
