The Keikyu 700 series (京急700形), later reclassified Keikyu 600 series (京急600形), was a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keikyu on limited-stop commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan from 1956 until 1986.[1]
Passenger accommodation consisted of facing four-person seating bays, with longitudinal bench seats near the doorways.[1]
The 700 series trains were first introduced in 1956, broadly based on the earlier 500 series trains.[1]
From April 1966, the trains were reclassified "600 series", and roughly half of the former driving cars were rebuilt as intermediate cars with the cabs removed.[1] At the same time, the headlamps were changed from the original incandescent light bulbs to sealed beam headlamps, and the original steel doors were replaced with new stainless steel doors.[1]
Withdrawals of the 600 series trains commenced in 1984 with the introduction of 2000 series trains, and the last members of the fleet were withdrawn in March 1986 following a Sayonara (farewell) run.[1]
Six former 600 series cars were resold to the Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad ("Kotoden") in Shikoku, where they became the 1070 series, modified with front-end gangways and longitudinal seating.[1]
The identities and histories of the six 600 series cars sold to Kotoden are as shown below.[2]
Car DeHa 601 is preserved in the No. 1 Recreation Park in Zushi, Kanagawa.[1]
