Eidan 500 Series 732

Location: Carlos Pellegrini Station, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Operator of Vehicle: Metrovías
Date of Photo: January 12, 2018

Plenty of attention was given (and deservedly so) to the retirement of New York City’s R32 subway cars during December and January.  Most of the digital ink devoted to the R32’s farewell rides mentioned that these were among the oldest subway cars in the world.  So what cars should get this title?  I’m not entirely sure this is the answer, but Buenos Aires’s Eidan 500 Series cars are certainly in the running.  The Eidan 500 Series cars were built in Japan and entered service on the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (now known as the Toyko Metro) on January 20, 1954.  They ran continuously until July of 1996, at which time most of them were sold to be used on the Buenos Aires Subte, while some others were preserved in Japan.  They remain in service on Buenos Aires’s Line B, alongside other secondhand rolling stock purchased from the Madrid Metro.  

Incidentally, for many years, Buenos Aires was the indisputable winner of oldest subway cars in operation title.  The wooden “La Brugeoise” cars operated for nearly a century on Line A from its opening in 1913 until early 2013.  When they were removed from service after 99 years of service, there was no question that they were the oldest subway cars in use anywhere at the time.  Considering Buenos Aires’s tendency to purchase secondhand rolling stock for the Subte, it is quite possible that this distinction will reside in the Argentinian capital with some frequency.

Are you aware of any subway cars in service that are older than the Eidan 500 Series in Buenos Aires?  If so, post a comment with the subway car type that you think is the world’s oldest currently in revenue operations.

For more photos of the Eidan 500 Series, please click here.