Seibu Railway Company, Ltd. (西武鉄道株式会社) is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, 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. It and its holding company hold shares of numerous bus, hotel and tourism operations nationwide.[1]
History
"Seibu Railway" was originally the name of a tram service between Shinjuku and Ogikubo, which was transferred to the Tokyo metropolitan government in 1951 and eventually closed in 1962. The Seibu Railway was acquired in 1921 by the Kawagoe Railway, which had operated a train service between Kokubunji and Kawagoe since 1894; the merged company kept the "Seibu" name and expanded its main line to Takadanobaba, forming what is now known as the Seibu Shinjuku Line.
The current Seibu Railway is a product of a 1945 merger between the former Seibu Railway and the Musashino Railway, which was founded in 1912 to operate what is now known as the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. The merger was largely orchestrated by Yasujirō Tsutsumi, a real estate developer who opened the Tamako Railway (now the Seibu Tamako Line) in 1928, became a major shareholder in the Musashino Railway and merged the two in 1940.
In 1944, the Tokyo metropolitan government, under the administration of Shigeo Ōdachi, hired the Seibu Railway and the Musashino Railway to provide a coordinated service to transport night soil from central Tokyo to outlying disposal areas. At the time, night soil was generally transported by truck to Tokyo Bay and disposed of by dumping there, but the progress of World War II led to gasoline and personnel shortages which made this system unsustainable. The sewage service continued through the American occupation until 1951. As a result of this service cooperation, Seibu Railway merged with Musashino Railway to form the current Seibu Railway, effective in September 1945. Tokyu Group president Keita Goto had an intense personal rivalry with Tsutsumi, and unsuccessfully attempted to block both Tsutsumi's takeover of the Musashino Railway and its merger with the Seibu Railway.[2]
The former Seibu network based around Shinjuku and the former Musashino network based around Ikebukuro remain operationally separated today. In 1986, Seibu Railway moved its headquarters from the Ikebukuro area to Tokorozawa, Saitama, where the two main Seibu lines intersect.
Tsutsumi became the controlling shareholder in Seibu Railway following the merger through his holding company Kokudo Corporation. After gaining control of Seibu, Kokudo developed the Prince Hotels chain, acquired the baseball team now known as the Saitama Seibu Lions, in addition to continuing its core real estate business throughout the Tokyo area. Seibu Railway had its initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1949 but remained under the control of Tsutsumi through Kokudo.
Station numbering was introduced on all Seibu Railway lines during fiscal 2012.[3]
Delisting and takeover struggle
Tsutsumi registered Seibu Railway shares owned by Kokudo in the names of various affiliated individuals, often without their permission, so that the true ownership of the company was not readily apparent.[4] Following the death of Tsutsumi in 1964, his third son Yoshiaki Tsutsumi inherited control of Kokudo and continued the practice of falsifying shareholder records. His holdings in Kokudo and Seibu led to his being deemed the "world's richest man" by Forbes magazine for four consecutive years from 1987 to 1990, with estimated net worth of $15–20 billion during the height of the Japanese asset bubble. He was arrested on securities fraud charges in March 2005.[5]
On December 21, 2005, Seibu Railway was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A reorganization of the group, completed in February 2006, created Seibu Holdings to act as a holding company for both the railway and Prince Hotels. Cerberus Capital Management, an American investment fund, became the largest shareholder in Seibu Holdings with a 29.9% share of the new company.
In late 2012 and early 2013, Cerberus proposed that Seibu Railway abolish five non-core lines, along with other restructuring measures throughout the Seibu Holdings group, but management refused to implement these changes. Cerberus then executed a
Railway operations
As of June 2017, Seibu's routes total 176.6 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.
Ikebukuro Line Group
The Ikebukuro Line group includes the Ikebukuro Line and its branches.
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.
Until May 31, 2017, this list included the Seibu Ahina Line. Prior to the formal closure, the 3.2 km freight line between Minami-Ōtsuka Station and Ahina Station had suspended operation since 1963.[9][10]
Rolling stock
As of 1 April 2015, Seibu operates a fleet of 1,274 electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles.[11]
Limited Express EMUs
- Seibu 001 series (since 2019)[12]
- Seibu 10000 series (since 1993)
Commuter EMUs
- Seibu 101 series (since 1969)
- Seibu 2000 series (since 1977)
- Seibu 4000 series
Railway fares
All fares are in Japanese yen (JPY). Fares are effective from March 18, 2023[18] and are still current in February, 2025.
Barrier-free fee
From March 18, 2023, a 10 yen "barrier-free" fee was added to regular fares of Seibu Railway and many other Tokyo railway operators.[18][19] The fee will primarily be used to accelerate the installation of platform screen doors at stations. All fares below include the barrier-free fee.
Regular fares
Regular fares are based on the distance travelled. Fares paid by cash (paper ticket) are rounded up to the nearest 10 yen increment (ticket vending machines do not accept 1 yen or 5 yen coins). Children (under 12 years old) are charged half the adult fare (including the barrier-free fee), then rounded up to the nearest 10 yen increment if paying by cash.
Affiliated companies
- Prince Hotels
- Seibu Construction
- Seibu Bus
- Saitama Seibu Lions (professional baseball team)
- Seibu Dome
- Seibu Real Estate
- Seibu Trading
External links
References
- 新宿線 特急レッドアロー号 Seibu Railway, retrieved 2025-02-17^
- Postwar60: Seibu's shareholding methods turn into minefield Kyodo News, January 13, 2005, retrieved June 26, 2013^
- http://www.seibu-group.co.jp/railways/news/news-release/2011/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2012/02/23/20110223eki-number.pdf