On February 1st, 2021, Tobu Railway celebrated the 30th anniversary of the EMU 200 series operations. In commemoration of the anniversary, the company launched one set of special revival color train on the Isesaki and Kiryu lines. It's set 205 of the 200 series.
Set 205 was originally launched in 1992. It had white-colored steel bodies with red and black-colored stripes. On August 7th of this year, its body color was changed to a vivid red with white stripes. This color design was taken from the former "Ryomo" limited express train namely EMU 1800 series, which was retired from the track in 2018.
Incidentally, the 200 series belongs to the Tobu limited express train fleet. It's operated between Tokyo Metropolis and the northern Kanto District as a limited express train "Ryomo". The 200 series debuted in 1991 to replace the old train, the EMU 1800 series. 10 sets in total were built by Tokyu Sharyo and Alna Sharyo from 1990 to 1998. One set is composed of six cars.
What do you foresee in the future of the 200 series? I expect that all the 200 series will be replaced by the new model, EMU 500 series, in the near future. The number of the 500 series for Ryomo limited express trains has been increasing since 2017. On the other hand, two sets of the 200 series were scrapped for these two years. Nobody can stop the transition to the next generation regardless of whether you like it or not.
