On December 17th, 2021, some news shook all rail-fans badly. Odakyu Electric Railway made a press release announcing that Romance Car VSE (hereafter VSE) will be terminated in its regular service on March 11th, 2022. Furthermore, VSE will be retired from the track in the autumn of 2023.
Let me quickly review VSE. The EMU Odakyu 50000 series, also known as VSE (Vault Super Express), is a famous model of the Odakyu Romance Car fleet. It was launched in 2005 as a 10-car train with articulated bogies. Two sets in total were built by Nippon Sharyo. VSE's cockpit is upstairs, so that passengers can enjoy a front view through the wide front windows. VSE achieves a high level of popularity among tourists.
Why does VSE have to be retired in spite of its youth... only 17 years old? Unfortunately, there is no official explanation from Odakyu, but most rail-fans speculate... (1) VSE has special short-sized bodies, so, the positions of passenger doors don't match those of the automatic platform gates at most stations. (2) VSE has special articulated bogies, so, it's not easy in maintenance. In summary, the negative aspect of VSE could be its economic feasibility, despite that VSE is the embodiment of Odakyu's high technologies.
I recently found that VSE carried a special sticker saying "thanks VSE" on the front. Time never stops, but please take a look at my previous posts about VSE, if you have time. They were posted in 2012, 2016 (February and November) and 2018.
