Hakone Tozan Railway 1000 series Bernina

Data (as of 6 Jul 2024)

History

The 1000 series was introduced to increase capacity of services. In the 1960s and 70s, Hakone Tozan Railway was suffering from a drop in demand as tourists preferred their own cars to trains. However, severe traffic jams brought tourists back to the trains, as they were more punctual and reliable than cars. The company concluded a partnership with Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland in 1979 so that the 1000 series have Swiss names.

They were painted white and orange at first, just like Odakyu's Romancecar trains. They were repainted pink with white stripes two years after Odakyu introduced 10000 series HiSE, and then repainted red again in 2002. Hakone Tozan Railway inserted an intermediate carriage of 2000 series Sy. Moritz to both 1000 series units in 2004, when air-conditioning was installed to them.

Current Operations & Future Prospects

There are two three-carriage units of the 1000 series. Both units have an intermediate carriage of 2000 series as mentioned above. In 2008, the second unit was restored to the original livery in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the company.

Photo

The original livery.