Odakyu 20000 series RSE

The Odakyu 20000 series RSE (Resort Super Express) is a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit operated by the Odakyu Electric Railway from March 1991 to March 2012.
==History==
The 20000 series trains were introduced as a train which could through run to the JR Central Gotemba Line from the Odakyu Odawara Line. The first sets entered service on 16 March 1991 and featured a new livery with Tahitian Blue accents on a Supreme White body. These were often used in conjunction with JR Central's 371 series set. The sets were the recipient of the 1992 Blue Ribbon Award.
During its early years, the 20000 series trains were posited as Odakyu's "image train", replacing the 10000 series trains in this regard. The 20000 series trains were often used for various photoshoots and was often considered the best in the Odakyu Romancecar fleet until the introduction of the 50000 series sets in 2005. Minor refurbishment works took place in 1999.
The 20000 series trains were used to supplement the 7000 and 10000 series trains taken out of service due to defects in 2010. In November 2011, the 371 and 20000 series trains were taken out of service on the Asagiri service, with all future services to be run by 60000 series trains with the next timetable revision; Odakyu also announced that the 20000 series trains would be retired with the timetable revision as well. Both sets were operated until 16 March 2012 and subsequently retired after an exactly 21-year service life; a special webpage was created on the Odakyu website to commemorate the retirement of the 5000, 10000 and 20000 series trains, all of which retired on the same day.
Shortly before their retirement in January 2012, Fuji Kyuko, a passenger transport company based in Yamanashi, expressed interest in the acquisition of a 20000 series set for their Fujisan Limited service; they had been operating two 2000 series trains (ex-JR East 165 series) trains until that point although equipment had significantly deteriorated and it was getting difficult to procure replacement parts. This deal later became official with Fuji Kyuko acquiring set 20002 in November 2013; it was then reconfigured into a three-car set and entered service there in 2014. 
Two cars, both from set 20001, are preserved; they are located at the Romancecar Museum in Ebina, Kanagawa. Car 20301 was also preserved after retirement but was scrapped in 2017 to increase space for future trains.
==Design==
The 20000 series sets use a streamlined front end with side-mounted headlights in rectangular-shaped casings recessed in the body. In between the headlights is a three-color LED display displaying the service name, although in rare occasions this can be covered by a plate with the service name. Unlike most of Odakyu's other Romancecars the 20000 series does not feature a raised driver's cab; cars 3 and 4 feature a double deck structure while the remaining cars feature a "high decker" structure allowing for better views.
==Specifications==
Construction is of steel. The trains use resistor-controlled traction systems. The trains are said to feature musical horns which were later removed; no recordings are known to exist. The speakers for the horn system were located in the front pilot. Other statistics are largely identical to JR Central's 371 series set.
The 20000 series trains are one of only three non-articulated members of the Romancecar family, in that none of the cars feature shared bogies; the others are the 30000 and the 60000 series.
Category:Odakyu trains
Category:Electric trainsets
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Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives