I realized that I haven’t written about Sagami Railway (Sotetsu) for quite some time. I couldn’t think of any recent topics, so I searched my hard disk and found some unreleased photos. Today, I’d like to show you a Sotetsu train from two years ago.
Before that, let’s briefly review Sotetsu. It’s a major private railway company based in Yokohama, operating a 44.4-kilometer-long network in Kanagawa Prefecture. The line is double-tracked, electrified at 1,500 V DC, and has a 1,067-millimeter gauge. Since 2019, Sotetsu trains have been running through onto JR East lines, and since 2023, onto Tokyu lines as well.
Now, let’s move on to today’s main topic. In 2023, Sotetsu operated a special revival train called “Okaimono Densha” (Shopping Train). The original Okaimono Densha was introduced in the 1960s to carry shoppers to Yokohama. It was an express train that displayed special headmarks on the front of the EMU 5000 series. Sixty-three years later, Okaimono Densha returned to the Sotetsu line, this time using trainset 11002 of the EMU 11000 series.
The revival was mainly aimed at promoting “Joinus Yokohama,” a large shopping mall owned by Sotetsu. The train features a nostalgic front design inspired by the original Okaimono Densha, depicting a pigeon and a shopping basket—both symbols from the 1960s version.
Incidentally, the 11000 series is Sotetsu’s standard commuter train, which debuted in 2008. To reduce manufacturing costs, it shares many specifications with JR East's EMU E233 series.
