Hitachi Rail will manufacture the rolling stock for Seibu Railway's new full-service restaurant train, the Fine Dining Train "vies," with passenger operations scheduled to begin in March 2028. Seibu and Hitachi announced the finalized train name and logo design on March 26, 2026, in Tokyo.

The new vehicle will be designed and built on the basis of the Seibu Railway 001 series limited express "Laview," the operator's flagship train, which Hitachi manufactured and which entered service on March 16, 2019. Hitachi says it will transfer to the project the technical expertise developed through Laview: large windows that open up interior sightlines, exterior design intended to blend with both urban and natural surroundings, and onboard systems aimed at ride comfort.

Hitachi's scope goes beyond car construction. The supplier states it will also draw on its control and system technologies — the equipment that keeps trains running safely and stably — to support a product in which dining and interior space are treated as a single offering rather than separate features.

Successor to a proven concept

"Vies" develops the concept established by Seibu's existing restaurant train, "Fifty Two Seats of Happiness," which has run since April 17, 2016 following refurbishment of Seibu 4000 series EMUs — also a Hitachi-supported project. That train, with exterior and interior design by architect Kengo Kuma, carries motifs of the Arakawa River on its bodywork and uses Chichibu Meisen textiles and locally sourced Nishikawa timber inside. It operates mainly on weekends and holidays between Ikebukuro or Seibu-Shinjuku and Seibu-Chichibu stations, and reaches its 10th anniversary in April 2026.

Seibu's stated aim for the new train is a more refined and exclusive space and dining experience than the 2016 product, targeting what Hitachi calls "quality time shared with someone special."

Naming and design

The name was developed by Toshiyuki Konishi of POOL inc., with logo design by Hideyuki Tanno of POOL DESIGN inc. "Vie" is French for "life" or "living"; the plural "vies" was chosen to signify multiple lives meeting through the dining experience. Read in reverse, "vies" spells "Seibu" — a wordplay the logo reinforces with an underline extending from right to left. The logo's organic "s" curve represents the train's body form, and the designers say the identity emphasizes a leisurely experience rather than speed or efficiency.

Company context

Hitachi Rail reports turnover of more than €7 billion and 24,000 employees across more than 50 countries, covering rolling stock production and maintenance, digital signalling, payment systems and operations. Parent Hitachi, Ltd. recorded revenues of 9,783.3 billion yen for FY2024, ended March 31, 2025, with approximately 280,000 employees and 618 consolidated subsidiaries.

No order value, fleet size or delivery schedule for the vehicles themselves has been disclosed; the March 2028 start of operations remains the only firm date published. Detailed specifications of the Laview-derived dining train are expected to emerge as the programme moves toward construction and testing ahead of the 2028 launch.