Keifuku Mobo 101 series

Data (as of 31 Mar 2024)

History

MoBo 101 series was introduced in 1929 when Arashiyama Main Line was double-tracked to provide more services. At that time, Keifuku had to boost capacity and win the competition against Shin-Keihan Railway (now Hankyu Arashiyama Line), which opened in the previous year. Keifuku later introduced similar types to the Mobo 101 series called MoBo 111, MoBo 121 and Ku 201 series, but these three types are not included in this article.

Six MoBo 101 series cars entered service in 1929, and they could not join to others, but all six cars were converted in 1932. Passengers were dissatisfied with bumpy tram so that the company replaced their bogies with new ones in 1968-70. In 1975, Keifuku dramatically refurbished them by replacing bodies with new ones, and the MoBo 101 series becamse similar to MoBo 301 series. The MoBo 101 series were converted again to be compatible with driver-only operation in 1982 and air-conditioning was installed in 1990.

Current Operations & Future Prospects

All six cars are registered for mainline use, but No. 103 has not been operational since 2018. The others were repainted purple by 2016, and they are mainly used on Arashiyama Main Line. Keifuku will introduce new trains in financial years 2023-26, replacing all MoBo 101 and 301 series.

Photos

No. 105 was painted like a police car, called "Randen Pato Train" (which meant Randen Patrol Train) as part of a joint campaign conducted by Keufuku, Ukyo Ward Office and Ukyo Police Station.