The is an

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

(EMU) train type operated by the

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

operator

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbreviati ...

mainly on

Seibu Chichibu Line The is a railway line in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by Seibu Railway. It is an extension of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, and connects Agano Station and Seibu-Chichibu Station. Stations All trains go via Agano Station to the Seibu Ikebu ...

services in

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

, Japan since 1988.

Design

The 4000 series trains were built between 1988 and 1992 by combining electrical equipment from former

101 series 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

EMUs with new steel bodies. The trains are finished in a livery of ivory white with blue, red, and green stripes along the waist line, the team colours of the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

baseball team. The driving cabs have a similar configuration to the earlier 101 series and 2000 series EMUs, with a left-hand master controller and right-hand brake control. File:Seibu4000-untendai.jpg, The driving cab console

Operations

The fleet of four-car trains is primarily used on all-stations driver only operation "Local" services on the

between and , but the trains are also used as eight-car formations on through "Rapid Express" train services from on the

Seibu Ikebukuro Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally term ...

to and on the

Chichibu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, owned by the private railway operator Chichibu Railway, linking and , both in Saitama Prefecture. Stations ;Legend * ● - All trains stop * ○ - Some trains stop * ▲ - Some trains pass * ▼ - Trains ...

. These trains divide and couple at , with separate portions for Mitsumineguchi and Nagatoro.

Fleet

, the fleet consists of twelve four-car sets, numbered 4001 to 4023, based at Musashigaoka depot.

Formations

Sets are formed as shown below with two motored ("M") cars and two non-powered driving trailer ("Tc") cars, and the Tc1 car at the southern (Ikebukuro) end. The M1 car is fitted with two single-arm

pantographs A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...

(originally lozenge-type pantographs). File:Seibu 4002 Yorii 20060513.JPG, Car 4002 of set 4001 in May 2006 File:Seibu 4001 Yorii 20060513.JPG, Car 4001 of set 4001 in May 2006

Interior

Seating mainly consists of fixed 4-person facing seating bays, with longitudinal bench seating next to the doorways. The Tc1 car has a toilet. File:Inside of Seibu 4000.jpg, Train interior view File:Seat of Seibu 4000.jpg, 4-person seating bay File:Lavatory of Seibu 4000.jpg, Toilet and priority seating File:Wheelchair space of Seibu 4000.jpg, Wheelchair space

History

The first train entered service in 1988, with twelve four-car sets built by 1992. The fleet was refurbished in 2002 for use on ''wanman'' driver only operation services on the Seibu Chichibu Line. Modifications included the addition of automatic passenger announcements.

''Fifty-two Seats of Happiness''

Seibu 4000 series 52 Seats of Happiness Bushi Station 20160806

One four-car set was modified from set 4009 into a tourist train called the for use on services operating between Seibu Shinjuku and Ikebukuro in Tokyo and Seibu Chichibu and Hon-Kawagoe in Saitama Prefecture, entering service from 17 April 2016. The interior and exterior design of the train was overseen by architect Kengo Kuma. The automated on-board passenger announcements in Japanese use the voice of TV presenter , and the melody chimes accompanying the announcements were created by musician Minoru Mukaiya, who was formerly the keyboard player in the group Casiopea. The train is formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Tokyo (southern) end. File:Seibu 4000 series 52 Seats of Happiness car 1 4009 Bushi Station 20160806.jpg, Car 4009 (car 1) with spring motif File:Seibu 4000 series 52 Seats of Happiness car 2 4109 Bushi Station 20160806.jpg, Car 4109 (car 2) with summer motif File:Seibu 4000 series 52 Seats of Happiness car 3 4110 Bushi Station 20160806.jpg, Car 4110 (car 3) with autumn motif File:Seibu 4000 series 52 Seats of Happiness car 4 4010 Bushi Station 20160806.jpg, Car 4010 (car 4) with winter motif

Special liveries

From 16 January 2016, set 4015 received a special Hello Kitty livery as part of a campaign to promote tourism to the Chichibu area. It is scheduled to operate in this livery until 27 March 2016.

References

External links

Seibu 4000 series train information

{{Seibu trainsets Electric multiple units of Japan

4000 series The 4000 series is a CMOS logic family of integrated circuits (ICs) first introduced in 1968 by RCA. It had a supply voltage range of 5V to 20V, which is much wider than any contemporary logic family. Almost all IC manufacturers active during thi ...