Seibu Railway

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Seibu Railway train in the city of Higashi Murayama, Tokyo
Seibu Railway train in the city of Higashi Murayama, Tokyo
Seibu 10000 series "Chichibu" Limited express train
Seibu 10000 series "Chichibu" Limited express train
Seibu 20000 series commuter trainset
Seibu 20000 series commuter trainset

Seibu Railway Company, Ltd. (西武鉄道株式会社 Seibu Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, 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 abbreviation of "west Musashi," referring to the historic name for this area. However it and its holding company hold shares of numerous bus, hotel and tourism operations nationwide.

Contents

[edit] History

The original Seibu Railway was founded in 1894 and began service on the Kawagoe Railway line between Kokubunji and Kawagoe that December. In the following years, Seibu built and operated a number of other lines based around Shinjuku. In 1943, the company merged into the Musashino Railway company, which had been operating an Ikebukuro - Hanno line since 1915. Musashino Railway renamed itself to Seibu Railway following the merger. The former Seibu network based around Shinjuku and the former Musashino network based around Ikebukuro remain operationally separated today.

On December 21, 2005, Seibu Railway shareholders voted to remove control of the railroad from Kokudo Corporation and Yoshiaki Tsutsumi who received prison sentences in October for insider trading. The reorganization, completed in February 2006, created Seibu Holdings, Inc., to act as a holding company for both the railway and Prince Hotels. The largest shareholder is United States-based Cerberus Group with a 29.9% share of the new company.[1]

[edit] Railway operations

Map of Seibu network
Map of Seibu network

Seibu's routes total 179.8 km. They fall into two separate groups. Tokorozawa Station is the crossing point of Ikebukuro Line and Shinjuku Line.

Seibu Railway is well known for its bright yellow colored trains. However, more recent trains have a blue colored line on unpainted stainless steel or aluminium bodies.

[edit] Ikebukuro Line Group

The Ikebukuro Line group includes the Ikebukuro Line and its branches.

[edit] Shinjuku Line Group

The Shinjuku Line group includes the Shinjuku Line and its branches, as well as the Tamagawa Line, which is not a branch of the Shinjuku Line but had been owned by the Shinjuku Line's operator before its merger with the Ikebukuro Line operator.

  • Shinjuku Line (新宿線): Seibu Shinjuku Station–Tokorozawa Station–Hon Kawagoe Station (47.5 km)
  • Seibu-en Line (西武園線): Higashi Murayama Station—Seibu-en Station (2.4 km)
  • Haijima Line (拝島線): Kodaira Station—Haijima Station (14.3 km)
  • Tamako Line (多摩湖線): Kokubunji Station—Hagiyama Station—Seibu Yuenchi Station (9.2 km)
  • Kokubunji Line (国分寺線): Higashi Murayama Station—Ogawa Station—Kokubunji Station (7.8 km)
  • Ahina Line (安比奈線): Minami Otsuka Station—Ahina Station (3.2 km: Freight line, not presently operating)
  • Tamagawa Line (多摩川線): Musashi-Sakai Station—Koremasa Station (8.0 km)

[edit] People mover

  • Yamaguchi Line (山口線): Seibu Yuenchi Station—Seibu Kyujo-Mae Station (2.8 km)

[edit] Fares

Single fare (Adult)

km Fare (JPY)
1-4 140
5-8 170
9-12 200
13-16 230
17-20 260
21-24 290
25-28 330
29-32 360
33-36 390
37-40 420
41-44 450
45-48 480
49-52 510
53-56 540
57-60 580
61-64 610
65-68 650
69-72 680
73-76 720
77-81 750

[edit] Affiliated companies

[edit] References

  1. ^  The Japan Times (December 22, 2005), Seibu Railway shareholders OK reorganizing plan. Retrieved December 22, 2005.
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v • d • e
Seibu lines
Ikebukuro Line group
■Ikebukuro • ■Sayama • ■Seibu Chichibu • ■Seibu Yūrakucho • ■Toshima
Shinjuku Line group
Ahina (out of service) • ■Haijima • ■Kokubunji • ■Seibu-en • ■Shinjuku • ■Tamagawa • ■Tamako
People mover
Related lines
Daiyūzan Line • Hakone Komagatake Ropeway • Jukkokutōge Cable Car • Sunzu Line
Major stations
Hannō • Hon-Kawagoe • Ikebukuro • Kokubunji • Seibu-Shinjuku • Takadanobaba • Tokorozawa
v • d • e
16 major private rail operators of Japan
East Japan
Keikyū · Keiō · Keisei · Odakyū · Seibu · Sōtetsu · Tōbu · Tōkyū · Tokyo Metro
West Japan
v • d • e
Mass transit in the Tokyo area (Number of lines indicated in parentheses)
JR lines
■Yamanote • ■Chūō • ■Chūō-Sōbu • ■Jōban • ■Keihin-Tōhoku • ■Keiyō • ■Saikyō •■Shōnan-Shinjuku • ■Sōbu Rapid • ■Tōkaidō • ■Utsunomiya • ■Yokosuka
Tokyo Metro lines
○Chiyoda (C) • ○Fukutoshin (F) • ○Ginza (G) • ○Hibiya (H) • ○Marunouchi (M) • ○Namboku (N) • ○Tōzai (T) • ○Yūrakuchō (Y) • ○Hanzōmon (Z)
Toei lines
Subway: ○Asakusa (A) • ○Ōedo (E) • ○Mita (I) • ○Shinjuku (S) • Guideway: Nippori-Toneri • Streetcar: Arakawa
Major / semi-major lines
Keikyū (5) • Keiō (7) • Keisei (7) • Odakyū (5) • Seibu (13) • Shin-Keisei • Sōtetsu (2) • Tōbu (12) • Tōkyū (8)
Other lines
Suburban, JR
■Hachikō • ■Kawagoe • ■Mito • ■Musashino • ■Nambu • ■Narita • ■Negishi • ■Ōme • ■Ryōmō • ■Sagami • ■Sōbu Main • ■Sotobō • ■Takasaki • ■Tōgane • ■Tsurumi • ■Uchibō • ■Yokohama
Suburban, Non-JR
Terminals
Miscellaneous