The "AC Train" was an experimental 5-car
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 operated 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 between 2002 and 2006.
Concept
The E993 series "AC Train" ("Advanced Commuter Train") was developed by JR East to test and evaluate a number of new technologies and features for possible use in future commuter train designs.
These included features intended to reduce life-cycle costs, improve the interior passenger environment, improve accessibility, and increase environmental friendliness.
Technological features
The train incorporated the following features for evaluation.
*
Articulated cars with shared
bogie
A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
s
*
Direct drive motors (DDM)
* Double-skin body construction
* Externally slung sliding doors
* Advanced Train Information Management System (AIMS)
Formation
The 5-car articulated set was based at Kawagoe Depot on the
Kawagoe Line
The Kawagoe Line ( ja, 川越線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects the cities of Saitama, Kawagoe, and Hidaka in Saitama Prefecture. The main transfer stations on the line are , ...
and formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Kawagoe end, and car 5 at the Shinjuku end.
Cars 1 and 2 were built 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 ...
in Kobe, and cars 3 to 5 were built by
Tokyu Car Corporation Tokyu may refer to:
* Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation
** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group
** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle m ...
in Yokohama.
Cars 2 and 4 were each fitted with one single-arm pantograph.
Cars 1 and 2 had double-skin aluminium bodies, cars 3 to 5 had stainless steel bodies with double-skin construction used for cars 3 and 5.
File:L25 Tc992-1 1200.jpg, KuHa E992-1
File:L25 M992-1 1200.jpg, MoHa E992-1
File:L25 M993-1 1200.jpg, MoHa E993-1
File:L25 T993-1 1200.jpg, SaHa E993-1
File:L25 Tc993-1 1200.jpg, KuHa E993-1
History
![JRE EF 81-95 and E993 for scrapping](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/JRE_EF_81-95_and_E993_for_scrapping.jpg)
The train was delivered to JR East's Kawagoe Depot on 17 January 2002.
Test running commenced on the
Kawagoe Line
The Kawagoe Line ( ja, 川越線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects the cities of Saitama, Kawagoe, and Hidaka in Saitama Prefecture. The main transfer stations on the line are , ...
and
Saikyo Line
Saikyo may refer to:
*Saikyō Line, a Japanese railway line in the Tokyo metropolitan area
*''Saikyō Maru'', a Japanese ship involved in the Battle of the Yalu River (1894)
*Western Capital (disambiguation)
Western Capital may refer to:
China ...
the following month.
The train was officially withdrawn on 14 July 2006.
No cars are preserved.
Features tested on the E993 series, including articulated cars and direct drive motors, were subsequently incorporated in the
E331 series
The was an electric multiple unit (EMU) train introduced experimentally from 2007 on commuter services on the Keiyo Line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Only one trainset was built, and it differed significantly from ...
prototype train delivered in 2006.
References
{{JR East EMU
Electric multiple units of Japan
East Japan Railway Company
Train-related introductions in 2002
Articulated passenger trains
Gearless electric drive
Experimental vehicles
Non-passenger multiple units
1500 V DC multiple units of Japan
Kawasaki multiple units
Tokyu Car multiple units