The is an AC (20 kV 50 Hz single-phase)/ DC (1,500 V) dual-voltage

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 on local services by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) in Japan since December 1995.

Design

Built jointly by

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headq ...

and

Tokyu Car is a manufacturer of heavy rail cars in Japan, formerly known as . The company is based in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, and a member of East Japan Railway Company (JR East) group. J-TREC manufactures rail vehicles not only for JR East and Tokyu Corp ...

, the design is derived from the

209 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1993. The series was introduced in 1992 for experimental operations (as the 901 series) and in 1993 fo ...

commuter EMU, and were initially operated as 10+5-car formations on

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

services out of in Tokyo, but were modified with the addition of toilets and transferred to Jōban Line and

Mito Line The is a railway line connecting Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Tomobe Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The line is long and is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Joban Line E501 series and E531 ...

local services in the Mito area from March 2007.

Formations

10-car sets

As of 1 October 2018, four ten-car sets (K701–K704) are based at Katsuta Depot and formed with four motored ("M") cars and six non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Cars 3 and 8 each have one single-arm pantograph. * Cars 1 and 10 have a wheelchair space. * Cars 1 and 10 each have a

universal design Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the ma ...

toilet. * Car 8 is designated as a mildly air-conditioned car.

5-car sets

As of 1 October 2018, four five-car sets (K751–K754) are based at Katsuta Depot and formed with two motored ("M") cars and three non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Cars 3 has one single-arm pantograph. * Cars 1 and 5 have a wheelchair space. * Cars 1 has a

toilet. * Car 4 is designated as a mildly air-conditioned car.

Interior

File:E501syanai.JPG, Interior view, January 2007

History

The first 10+5-car train was originally scheduled to be delivered in time for entry into service from the March 1995 timetable revision, but deliveries from Kawasaki Heavy Industries in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

were delayed until May due to the effects of the

Great Hanshin earthquake The , or Kobe earthquake, occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST (January 16 at 20:46:53 UTC) in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had ...

in January of that year. The first trains ultimately entered revenue service from the start of the 1 December 1995 timetable revision. Between September and October 2006, modifications were made to the side windows to allow some windows to be opened. From October 2006, the fleet underwent modifications to add toilets, and from the start of the 18 March 2007 timetable revision, the E501 series trains were displaced from Jōban Line services out of Ueno by

E531 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was introduced by JR East on 9 July 2005 to replace the aging 403 and 415 series EMUs running on the Jōban Line from Ueno Station ...

sets, and were transferred to local services on the Jōban Line north of and on the

. Between 2011 and 2012, the fleet underwent a life-extension refurbishment programme, which involved replacing electrical and brake equipment. These trains were originally equipped with Siemens GTO-VVVF propulsion systems, which were similar to the

Keikyu 2100 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keikyu in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1998. It replaced the earlier 2000 series on limited-stop reserved seat services. A total of 10 8-car sets wer ...

and also produced a " do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do" scale when starting up. As part of the refurbishment, the propulsion system was changed to Toshiba IGBT-VVVF. Between December 2014 and December 2015, all PS29 lozenge-type pantographs were replaced with single-arm pantographs. File:L25 ME501-7.jpg, Intermediate motor car MoHa E501-7 showing the modified opening side windows, February 2009 File:JREast-E501car11-car12.JPG, The blocked-off window next to the retro-fitted toilet, January 2007 File:E501 K752 in Mito Line.jpg, 5-car set K752 in December 2008

Build details

The build details for the fleet are as shown below.

References

External links

JR East E501 series
{{JR East EMU Electric multiple units of Japan East Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 1995 20 kV AC multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan Kawasaki multiple units Tokyu Car multiple units