The is a suburban

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

(EMU) train type operated by

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

(JR-West) in the

Kansai Region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

of Japan since March 1989.

Operations

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

(

Biwako Line The is the nickname used by the operator of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) to refer to the portion of the Tōkaidō Main Line (between Maibara Station and Kyoto Station) and the Hokuriku Main Line (between Maibara Station and Nagahama ...

JR Kyoto Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The name applies to the section of the Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyōto Station and Ōsaka Station. The Kyoto ...

JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tokaido Main Line and the Sanyo Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture. The line, along with the JR Kyoto Line and the Biwako Line, form ...

) ( - , until 2023) *

Sanyō Main Line , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiari ...

(JR Kobe Line) (Kōbe - , until 2023) *

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...

(Biwako Line) ( - Maibara, until 2023) *

Kosei Line The is a commuter rail line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from the Kansai region t ...

( - ) *

Osaka Loop Line The is a railway loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka. Part of a second, proposed outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten to Kyuhoji was opened on March 15, 2008, an ...

(only on Rapid service, Regional Rapid service and Local train) *

Osaka Higashi Line The (Literally: Osaka East Line) is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The line connects Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the norther ...

(only on Local service, from 12 March 2022) *

Kansai Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both comp ...

(

Yamatoji Line The is the common name of the western portion of the Kansai Main Line. The line is owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), and starts at Kamo Station in Kyoto Prefecture and ends at JR Namba Station in Naniwa-ku, Osaka. O ...

) ( - ) *

Nara Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto metropolitan area, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Its official termini are Kizu Station in Kizugawa and Kyōto Station in Kyoto, within Kyoto Prefecture; however ...

Sakurai Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Nara Prefecture. It connects Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama Line to Ōji Station, and then to JR ...

(Manyō-Mahoroba Line) *

Wakayama Line The is a railway line that links Nara Prefecture to Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Ōji Station on the Yamatoji Line to Wakayama Station on the Hanwa Line and Kisei Main Line, with t ...

( - ) *

Akō Line is a railway line owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Aioi, Hyōgo to Okayama, Okayama in Japan. A loop line off the Sanyō Main Line, the Akō Line commences at Aioi, is situated south of the main line approximately parallel ...

( - , until 2023) *

Sanin Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

(

Sagano Line The is the popular name for a portion of the Sanin Main Line in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. The electrified and double-tracked railway is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway ...

) ( - ) *

Bantan Line The is a railway line that connects Himeji and Wadayama station in Asago City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The line is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and serves as a connector between the Sanyo Main Line and the Sanin Main ...

( - , until 2023)

Formations

, the fleet consisted of 474 vehicles, formed as 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-car sets, based at Kyoto, Nara, and Aboshi depots.

Aboshi Depot

8-car sets (A prefix)

6-car sets (B prefix)

4-car sets (C prefix)

Nara Depot

8-car sets (NB prefix)

6-car sets (NC prefix)

4-car sets (NA prefix)

2-car sets

Kyoto Depot

4-car sets (K prefix)

The KuMoHa 221 cars in some formations are equipped with a second de-icing pantograph.

Interior

Seating is arranged as 2+2 abreast transverse flip-over seats. File:JRW series221 inside.jpg, Original interior style in May 2009 file:JRW series221 inside(renewal).jpg, Interior of a refurbished train File:JR-221(3).jpg, Original LED passenger information display in September 2005 File:JRW series221 ledinfomation(renewal).jpg, LED passenger information display of a refurbished train in October 2014 file:JRW series221 toilet(renewal).jpg, Wheelchair-accessible toilet of a refurbished train

History

The first 221 series trains were introduced from the start of the revised timetable in March 1989. The 221 series received the

Laurel Prize The is an award presented annually in Japan since 1961 by the Japan Railfan Club. It is awarded for railway vehicles that entered service in the previous year and voted by the selection committee as having the most outstanding functional and des ...

in 1990.

Refurbishment

From December 2012, a programme of refurbishment started, which will ultimately cover the entire fleet of 474 vehicles. Interior improvements include new

universal access Apple Universal Access is a component of the macOS operating system that provides computing abilities to people with visual impairment, hearing impairment, or physical disability. Components Universal Access is a preference pane of the Sys ...

toilets, provision of wheelchair spaces, and flip-up seating next to the doorways. The first refurbished set, 4-car set K12, was returned to revenue service on 11 January 2013.

References

{{JR-West rolling stock Electric multiple units of Japan West Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 1989 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan Kinki Sharyo multiple units Kawasaki multiple units Hitachi multiple units