 | |
Native name | 西武鉄道株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Seibu Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha |
| Company type | PrivateKK |
| Industry | Private railroad |
| Founded | December 21, 1894; 131 years ago (1894-12-21) |
| Headquarters | 1-1-1 Kusunokidai,, Japan |
Area served | Tokyo Saitama Prefecture |
Key people | Takashi Goto (president and CEO) |
| Services | passenger railways other related services |
| Owner | Seibu Holdings (100%) |
Number of employees | 3,289 (as of the end of 2004) |
| Website | www |
Seibu Railway Company, Ltd. (西武鉄道株式会社,Seibu Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is aconglomerate based inTokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas inrailways, tourism, andreal estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwestTokyo andSaitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbreviation of "westMusashi", referring to the historic name for this area. It and its holding company hold shares of numerous bus, hotel and tourism operations nationwide.[1]
"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 theMusashino Railway, which was founded in 1912 to operate what is now known as the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. The merger was largely orchestrated byYasujirō Tsutsumi, a real estate developer who opened the Tamako Railway (now theSeibu Tamako Line) in 1928, became a major shareholder in the Musashino Railway and merged the two in 1940.
In 1944, theTokyo metropolitan government, under the administration ofShigeo Ōdachi, hired the Seibu Railway and the Musashino Railway to provide a coordinated service to transportnight soil from central Tokyo to outlying disposal areas. At the time, night soil was generally transported by truck toTokyo Bay and disposed of by dumping there, but the progress ofWorld 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 presidentKeita 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 toTokorozawa, 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 thePrince Hotels chain, acquired the baseball team now known as theSaitama Seibu Lions, in addition to continuing its core real estate business throughout the Tokyo area. Seibu Railway had itsinitial public offering on theTokyo 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]
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 sonYoshiaki 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" byForbes magazine for four consecutive years from 1987 to 1990, with estimated net worth of $15–20 billion during the height of theJapanese 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, createdSeibu Holdings to act as a holding company for both the railway andPrince Hotels.Cerberus Capital Management, an American investment fund, became the largest shareholder in Seibu Holdings with a 29.9% share of the new company.[1]
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 atender offer to increase its stake to 35% as of June 2013, giving Cerberus the power to veto shareholder resolutions.[6] Cerberus had aimed to raise its stake to 44%, bringing it closer to an outright majority, but Seibu management engaged in a massive campaign to thwart the tender offer, including advertising within Seibu trains to passengers who owned stock. TheEast Japan Railway Company and several financial institutions also planned a support scheme to keep Cerberus from acquiring control of Seibu, but it was ultimately not implemented due to a lack of potential financial benefit for the investors. At the June 2013 shareholder meeting, several proposals by Cerberus were voted down, including the election of outside directors and the abolition of non-core lines.[7]
As of June 2013[update], Yoshiaki Tsutsumi remains a major investor in Seibu Holdings through his 36% investment in NW Corporation, the second-largest shareholder in the company with a share of around 15%. Tsutsumi refused to respond to the Cerberus tender offer at the urging of Seibu management.[7]
As of June 2017, Seibu's routes total 176.6 km (109.7 mi). They fall into two separate groups.Tokorozawa Station is the crossing point ofIkebukuro Line andShinjuku 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.
The Ikebukuro Line group includes theIkebukuro Line and its branches.
| Line | Code | Route | Length | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ikebukuro Line |  | Ikebukuro —Tokorozawa —Hannō —Agano Provides directthrough service via theSeibu Yūrakuchō Line to:
| 57.8 km (35.9 mi) | 31 |
| Seibu Chichibu Line | | Agano —Seibu-Chichibu | 19.0 km (11.8 mi) | 6 |
| Seibu Yūrakuchō Line | | Nerima —Kotake-mukaihara Connects theIkebukuro Line and theTokyo Metro system | 2.6 km (1.6 mi) | 3 |
| Toshima Line | | Nerima —Toshimaen | 1.0 km (0.62 mi) | 2 |
| Sayama Line | | Nishi-Tokorozawa —Seibukyūjō-mae | 4.2 km (2.6 mi) | 3 |
The Shinjuku Line group includes theShinjuku 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.
| Line | Code | Route | Length | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku Line |  | Seibu-Shinjuku —Tokorozawa —Hon-Kawagoe | 47.5 km (29.5 mi) | 29 |
| Haijima Line | | Kodaira —Haijima | 14.3 km (8.9 mi) | 8 |
| Seibuen Line |  | Higashi-Murayama —Seibuen | 2.4 km (1.5 mi) | 2 |
| Kokubunji Line | | Kokubunji —Ogawa —Higashi-Murayama | 7.8 km (4.8 mi) | 5 |
| Tamako Line |  | Kokubunji —Hagiyama —Tamako | 9.2 km (5.7 mi) | 7 |
| Tamagawa Line |  | Musashi-Sakai —Koremasa | 8.0 km (5.0 mi) | 6 |
Until May 31, 2017, this list included theSeibu Ahina Line [ja]. Prior to the formal closure, the 3.2 km (2.0 mi) freight line betweenMinami-Ōtsuka Station andAhina Station had suspended operation since 1963.[9][10]
| Line | Code | Route | Length | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamaguchi Line "Leo Liner" |  | Tamako —Seibukyūjō-mae Connects theSeibu Tamako Line with theSeibu Sayama Line | 2.8 km (1.7 mi) | 3 |
As of 1 April 2015[update], Seibu operates a fleet of 1,274electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles.[11]
Several Tokyu 9000 and Odakyu 8000 series trains (100 vehicles in total) are expected to be transferred from their original operators from 2024 in use primarily on Seibu's branch lines such as theKokubunji andChichibu lines, thus bringing down energy consumption as they replace some of Seibu's oldest trains.[15]
All fares are in Japanese yen (JPY). Fares are effective from March 18, 2023[update][18] and are still current in February, 2025.
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 ofplatform screen doors at stations. All fares below include the barrier-free fee.
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.
| Kilometres | IC Card | Cash |
|---|---|---|
| 1~4 | 157 | 160 |
| 5~8 | 188 | 190 |
| 9~12 | 220 | 220 |
| 13~16 | 252 | 260 |
| 17~20 | 282 | 290 |
| 21~24 | 314 | 320 |
| 25~28 | 356 | 360 |
| 29~32 | 387 | 390 |
| 33~36 | 419 | 420 |
| 37~40 | 450 | 450 |
| 41~44 | 481 | 490 |
| 45~48 | 513 | 520 |
| 49~52 | 544 | 550 |
| 53~56 | 576 | 580 |
| 57~60 | 618 | 620 |
| 61~64 | 649 | 650 |
| 65~68 | 692 | 700 |
| 69~72 | 722 | 730 |
| 73~76 | 764 | 770 |
| 77~81 | 796 | 800 |
In addition to a regular fare ticket, reserved seat trains also require purchase of a reserved seat ticket before boarding the train.[20]
Operates on weekday morningsTokorozawa—Toyosu, weekday evenings Toyosu-—Kotesashi & weekendsSeibu-Chichibu/Hanno/Tokorozawa—Motomachi-Chūkagai.[21]
Reserved seat ticket: 510 yen (260 yen for children under 12yo), regardless of the distance travelled.[21]
Operates between Haijima and Seibu-Shinjuku.[22]
Reserved seat ticket: 400 yen (200 yen for children under 12years old), regardless of the distance travelled.[22]
In addition to a regular fare ticket, Limited Express trains also require purchase of a Limited Express ticket before boarding the train.[20]
Laview (ラビュー), also known asLaview Express, operates between Ikebukuro andSeibu-Chichibu usingSeibu 001 Series trainsets.[23]
Limited Express ticket: between 400 and 600 yen (between 200 and 300 yen for children under 12yo), depending on the distance travelled.
Red Arrow (レッドアロー), also known asRed Arrow Express orNew Red Arrow(NRA), operates between Seibu-Shinjuku andHon-Kawagoe usingSeibu 10000 Series trainsets.[24]
Limited Express ticket: between 500 and 900 yen (between 250 and 450 yen for children under 12yo), depending on the distance travelled.[24]
| Seibu railway lines | |
|---|---|
| Ikebukuro Line group | |
| Shinjuku Line group | |
| People mover | |
| Related lines | |
| Major stations | |
| Shinkansen | |
|---|---|
 JR East linespassing through Central Tokyo | |
| JR East lines in satellite cities or suburbs | |
 Tokyo Metro | |
 Toei Subway | |
 Yokohama Municipal Subway | |
 Keikyu | |
 Keio | |
 Keisei | |
 Odakyu | |
 Seibu | |
 Sotetsu | |
 Tobu | |
 Tokyu | |
| Other heavy rail lines | |
| Medium-capacity rails | |
| Monorails | |
| Trams and light rails | |
| People movers | |
| Hinterland | |
| Funiculars and aerial lifts | |
 Bus | |
| Public ferries | |
| Major terminals | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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