Set 2069 of the EMU Seibu 2000N series, the 110th anniversary trainAlong with Keio Electric Railway, Seibu Railway Company recently celebrated its 110th anniversary. Seibu was established in 1912 under the name of Musashino Railway, and partially opened the present Ikebukuro line in 1915. Since then, Seibu has been growing to be one of the major railway companies in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It has currently a total of 176.6-kilometer-long labyrinthine railway network in the northwestern part of Tokyo Metropolis and Saitama Prefecture.
The history of Seibu has not been an uneventful one. This company had been known for being managed by members of a single family, but, after a scandal involving them breaking a Security and Exchange Law in the early 2000s, the company has been trying to dedicate themselves to modernization of the management style. Rebounded from their scandal, the newly-established Seibu Holdings, Inc. was successfully relisted in 2014. I think the former Seibu was NOT diligent in their railway business, just keen on the florid new business. As a rail-fan, I wish Seibu to value their core business.
To commemorate its 110th anniversary, Seibu launched a special-colored train set 2069 of the EMU 2000N series. Its brown-colored body design was taken from Seibu's historical masterpiece train, EMU DeHa 5560 series. The 5560 series debuted in 1928 as both a commuter and a sightseeing train, and was retired from the track in 1958. Celebrating the 110th anniversary of the company was a good opportunity for Seibu to return to the basics of their vision and mission.
