Wednesday 6 August 2014

The Last of Classic Romance Cars

EMU Odakyu Romance Car, LSE 7000 series, travels on the Odawara Line
 
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, several private railway companies operate gorgeous express trains as their flagships. One of the venerable trains is the Romance Car on the Odakyu line. Its operating route extends from Shinjuku, a subcenter of Tokyo, to Hakone, a reputable mountain resort in a western suburb.

The EMU 7000 series, "LSE" is the oldest Romance Car at work. It was launched in 1980 to replace the old models. A total of 4 sets, 44 units, have been manufactured by Nippon Sharyo and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Currently, two sets are still being operated on the Odawara Line. Recent topics of the LSE are its body color change. Odakyu returned the body color of LSE to its original, namely orange vermilion, gray and white in 2012. As a result, the white and wine-red colored LSE cars have disappeared from the tracks. The original coloring design is a tradition of the Romance Car. For instance, the first and second generation Romance Cars also had the same coloring design. You can still see this design on the preserved car, the EMU 3100 series, in Kaisei Town, Kanagawa Prefecture.

In January, 2010, the 7000 series faced difficulty surviving. A malfunction occurred on its articulated bogies. Many rail fans were anxious about the future of the 7000 series, but it came back onto the track in April 2010, after careful inspection.

The EMU 7000 series, LSE... it is a phoenix-like classic Romance Car on the Odakyu Line.

 
EMU Odakyu Romance Car, LSE 7000 series, stands at Shinjuku Terminal