I've received the latest picture from an Indonesian railfan. It's the last active set named 8618F of the EMU ex-Tokyu 8500 series being operated in Jakarta. My thanks go to Faris Fadhli, who kindly sent me the beautiful picture.
Let me quickly review the EMU Tokyu 8500 series. They were direct current commuter trains operated on the Tokyu lines in Japan from 1975 to 2023. 400 units in total were built by Tokyu Sharyo. After retirement from Tokyu Electric Railway, 29 units were transferred to Nagano Electric Railway, Chichibu Railway and Izukyu; meanwhile, 64 units were exported to Indonesia as secondhand trains. These exported trains have been used by a local railway company, PT. Kereta Commuter Indonesia.
Now, let's head to the main topic. Please look at the top photo. It’s 8618F… the last active set of the 8500 series in Indonesia. It’s kept in a good condition, isn’t it? When I lived in Jakarta from 2007 to 2011, I often used trains. I still clearly remember the time when 8618F arrived at Indonesia in 2008. I visited Bukit Duri Railyard on August 24th with several enthusiastic Indonesian railfans, and welcomed 8618F (see the photo below). 16 years have passed since then. Time really flies. The 8500 series' second life is coming to an end... but 8618F still remains on the track and carries lots of commuters every day. I would like to thank the local railway engineers in Indonesia, and hope it'll be operated as long as possible.
