This is quite sudden, but do you know who are in the top photo? They look like a girl and two boys. It will be a piece of cake for you. The answer is Harry, Hermione and Ron from right to left. They are printed on the train bodies. What for? The gimmick is as follows. On June 16th, 2023, a brand-new attraction, named Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo - The Making of Harry Potter, was opened on the site of the former Toshimaen Amusement Park near Toshimaen station of Seibu Railway. This new attraction offers visitors the chance to step behind the scenes of the films and discover the secrets of the Wizarding World.
To promote tourism to The Making of Harry Potter, Seibu Railway launched three sets of special poster trains, named "Studio Tour Tokyo Express", on the Ikebukuro line. They are train set 20152, 20153 and 20158 of the EMU 20000 series. Each poster train is composed of 8 cars. The design is just simple and bold. The three main cast members are portrayed on the side bodies of each train. They stand out against the Forbidden Forest. "Studio Tour Tokyo Express" is the train that you can't forget after seeing it once.
Incidentally, the EMU Seibu 20000 series debuted in 2000 as a new-generation commuter train following the 6000 series. The standard cars have light blue colored stripes on the aluminum bodies. 135kW induction motors with a variable frequency drive electric control system are equipped. 144 cars in total were built by Hitachi.
