The Eidan 500 series (and the related 300, 400 and 900 series) are Japanese city commuter electric multiple units operated by the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (Eidan) from January 1954 to July 1996.
History[]
The 500 series was a completely new design that was conceived in 1953 as a new train that could be used on the then-new TRTA Marunouchi Line. The first set entered service on 20 January 1954. Cars from any of the various series of cars were typically mixed and matched together.
As the 500 series sets' age began to show, they were slowly replaced by 02 series sets starting in October 1988; the sets were used on the Hōnachō Branch Line of the Marunouchi Line in their final years. The last sets were withdrawn from use on the main Marunouchi Line on 28 February 1995. The last 500 series set, set 587, was retired from regular service on 18 July 1996; it was retired completely on 20 July 1996 and was replaced by a 02 series set shortly after. After their lives on the TRTA, many cars were exported to Buenos Aires for use on the Buenos Aires Underground.
14 cars are preserved around Japan. In 2017, four cars were returned from Buenos Aires to Japan to be restored as a nostalgia train "for educational purposes", with a three car set and an additional car; the three car set comprises random cars picked out from random sets (771, 734, 584), with the fourth car (752) being used as a reserve car. The set is operational and is used only on special occasions.
Design[]
The 500 series sets' design is standard for many sets of the time. The trains had a very distinctive sine wave design on the sides.
Specifications[]
Construction is of stainless steel. Cars are 18 meters long, 2.79 meters wide and 3.49 meters high. All sets use resistor control, which was standard for the time.
The 500 series nostalgia train is unique in that all three cars are restored to represent its use in different time periods; car 771 is restored to "Argentina specifications", car 734 is restored to "retirement specifications" and car 584 is restored to "as-built specifications". All these specifications pertain to the car's interior; car 771's interior was restored to look like it did during the times the cars ran on the Buenos Aires Underground with Spanish posters and route maps all around, car 734's interior was restored to look like it did in the sets' final years on the TRTA Marunouchi Line and car 584's interior was restored to look like it did when the trains were originally delivered in 1954.
Preservation[]
The following 500 series cars have been preserved:
| Car number | Manufacturer | Date manufactured | Date retired | Previous sets | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 584 | Nippon Sharyo | October 1958 | July 1996 | Various | Nakano Depot, Tokyo, Japan | Shipped back from Buenos Aires in 2016; operationally preserved in "nostalgia" train |
| 734 | December 1961 | |||||
| 771 | Kawasaki Sharyō | October 1962 | ||||
| 752 | Kinki Sharyo | January 1962 | Shipped back from Buenos Aires in 2016; stored under tarp | |||
| 301 | Kisha Seizō | January 1954 | November 1989 | Tokyo Metro Museum, Tokyo, Japan | First car built; displayed next to 1001 | |
| 440 | Nippon Sharyo | June 1956 | January 1991 | Anzu Kindergarten, Iruma, Chiba, Japan | Stored on school grounds; average cosmetic condition | |
| 454 | Kawasaki Sharyō | January 1989 | Poppo-no-oka, Isumi, Chiba, Japan | Formerly preserved at Hinode Kindergarten in Meguro, Tokyo until 2012; moved to Poppo-no-Oka in August 2012 | ||
| 652 | Nippon Sharyo | March 1960 | April 1992 | Konica Minolta Science Dome, Tokyo, Japan | Displayed under shelter | |
| 664 | Kisha Seizō | January 1961 | June 1993 | Hyūga, Miyazaki, Japan | Privately owned, displayed outdoors; poor cosmetic condition | |
| 685 | Kinki Sharyo | February 1961 | April 1992 | Tokyo College of Transport Studies, Tokyo, Japan | Displayed under shelter |
The following 500 series cars were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:
| Car number | Manufacturer | Date manufactured | Date retired | Previous sets | Last location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 319 | Kinki Sharyo | January 1954 | March 1989 | Various | Prince Golf Nagara, Chiba, Japan | Scrapped c.2007 |
| 444 | Kisha Seizō | June 1956 | January 1991 | Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan | Privately owned; scrapped June 2020 | |
| 451 | Kawasaki Sharyō | January 1990 | Sagawa Express Distribution Center, Ishioka, Saitama, Japan | Preserved on company grounds, coupled back to back and used as rest area; last reliably sighted 1995, assumed to have been scrapped | ||
| 459 | Kisha Seizō | March 1957 | February 1989 | |||
| 456 | Tokyu Car Corporation | June 1956 | October 1990 | Mitoyo Kindergarten, Hamaoka, Shizuoka, Japan | Preserved on school compound; kindergarten closed c.2000s, car most likely scrapped following closure and clearing of site | |
| 437 | Kisha Seizō | March 1989 | Unknown | Privately owned, location not known; assumed to have been scrapped | ||
| 461 | Nippon Sharyo | March 1957 | February 1989 | Privately owned, location not known although car is speculated to be in Ushiku, Ibaraki; assumed to have been scrapped | ||
| 464 | July 1990 | Privately owned, location not known; assumed to have been scrapped |
References[]
| Tokyo Metro rolling stock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Ginza Line | 1000 (gen 2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marunouchi Line | 2000 (gen 2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hibiya Line | 13000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tōzai Line | 05 • 05N • 07 • 15000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chiyoda Line | 05 • 16000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yūrakuchō Line | 10000 • 17000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanzōmon Line | 08 • 8000 • 18000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Namboku Line | 9000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fukutoshin Line | 10000 • 17000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Withdrawn | Ginza Line | 01 • 100 • 1000 (gen 1) • 1100 • 1200 • 1300 • 1400 • 1500 • 1500N • 1500NN • 1600 • 1700 • 1800 • 1900 • 2000 (gen 1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marunouchi Line | 02 • 500 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hibiya Line | 03 • 3000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tōzai Line | 5000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chiyoda Line | 06 • 5000 • 6000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yūrakuchō Line | 07 • 7000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fukutoshin Line | 7000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proposed | Ginza Line | 200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||