Wednesday, 20 August 2025

130th Anniversary of Kawagoe Railway

Set 2085 of the Seibu EMU 2000N series displays a special commemorative sticker

Do you remember when I posted that Seibu Railway was celebrating the 130th anniversary of Kawagoe Railway? Today, I’d like to give you an update on this topic.

Let’s start with a quick look at the Kawagoe Railway. It was one of the predecessors of today’s Seibu Railway. Parts of the Seibu Shinjuku and Kokubunji lines were originally opened by the Kawagoe Railway in 1895. The Kawagoe Railway merged with the Musashino Railway in 1945 and was reborn as Seibu Railway in 1946. Six cities—Kawagoe, Higashimurayama, Tokorozawa, Sayama, Kodaira, and Kokubunji—are located along the former Kawagoe Railway line.

One of the anniversary events includes displaying special commemorative stickers on the front of EMU 2000N series trainsets. These stickers were designed by local residents and selected by the six cities mentioned above. Please look at the top photo. The round sticker displayed on Set 2085 was designed by a resident of Higashimurayama City. It features symbols of the city: the white wagtail, azalea, zelkova tree, and fruit. Colorful and beautiful! Next, look at the photo below. The sticker on Set 2079 was designed by a child from Tokorozawa City. It features Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park, the official city mascot “Tokoron,” and a train. As a rail fan, I’m delighted to see the iconic yellow Seibu train (EMU 2000N or 9000 series) featured in the design.

If you have time, please check the URL at the bottom of this post, where you can see all six sticker designs. Congratulations to the Kawagoe Railway on its 130th anniversary!

Set 2079 of the Seibu EMU 2000N series displays a special commemorative sticker

Official information on the 130th anniversary of Kawagoe Railway by Seibu (in Japanese):