Keio 3000 series
Jomo Electric Railway 700 series
Iyotetsu 3000 series

Data (as of 31 Mar 2024)

History

Keio 3000 series was one of the first three train types in Japan whose body was fully made of stainless steel. 29 five-carriage units in total were introduced to Inokashira Line, and their front ends were painted to seven different colours. It has been popular among children since the introduction so that this feature has also applied to its successor, 1000 series.

Some old units were withdrawn in 1996-2004, following the introduction of the 1000 series. Keio also refurbished 14 units which were not too old, but the replacement resumed in 2008. The last unit, which was painted Light Blue, retired in 2011.

Many small private railways in rural area purchased the series as listed below, as their bodies are sturdy.

Current Operations & Future Prospects

Alpico (Nagano Prefecture), Gakunan Electric Train (Shizuoka Prefecture), Hokuriku Rail Road (Ishikawa Prefecture), Iyotetsu (Ehime Prefecture) and Jomo Electric Railway (Gunma Prefecture) use second-hand 3000 series units.

Hokuriku Rail Road has been replacing some of them with ex-03 series of Tokyo Metro from 2020. Alpico is going to replace all trainsets with 20100 series by 2025. Jomo Electric Railway also has a plan to replace them in 2023-26.

Photos

Alpico uses them in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.

Jomo Electric Railway uses them for Jomo Line. All units have different colours, though not in a same way that Keio adopted.

The 3000 series is the newest train on Iyotetsu suburban rail network.

Iyotetsu repainted them vivid orange in 2017-21, which is unpopular among local residents.