The is an

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

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. It was introduced by JR East on 9 July 2005 to replace the aging 403 and 415 series EMUs running on the

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, ...

from

Ueno Station is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other fam ...

in Tokyo. The stock is a dual-voltage (1,500 V DC & 20 kV AC) development of the DC-only

E231 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type used for commuter and outer-suburban services operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 2000. Design Trains were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy In ...

suburban EMU design, and can run at speeds of up to in service.

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 ...

(–) *

Ueno–Tokyo Line The Ueno–Tokyo Line ( ja, 上野東京ライン, ), formerly known as the Tōhoku Through Line ( ja, 東北縦貫線, links=no, ) is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), linking the Ueno Station ...

(–) *

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 ...

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fuku ...

(–) Trains are formed in 10-car (set numbers K401–K426) and 5-car (set numbers K451–K483, K551–K557) sets. 15-car formations are generally run between and . 10- and 5-car sets operate singly north of Tsuchiura, and 5-car sets are used on the

. 5-car cold weather sets (E531-3000 series) are used on the

between and , to handle the change of electrification from DC to AC just north of Kuroiso.

Formations

10-car sets

As of 1 October 2018, 26 ten-car sets (K401–K426) 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, 5, and 10 each have a toilet (

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 ...

in cars 1 and 10). * Car 8 is designated as a mildly air-conditioned car. * Cars 4 and 5 are bilevel Green Cars. * Car 9 in sets K412–K422 are numbered in the -2000 series and have longitudinal seating (these cars were originally cars 4 and 5 in sets K401–K406); in all other sets, they are numbered in the -0 series and have some transverse seating bays. * Cars 1, 2, and 10 have some transverse seating bays.

Standard 5-car sets

As of 3 March 2020, 33 five-car sets (K451–K483) are based at Katsuta Depot and formed with two motored ("M") cars and three non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Car 13 has one single-arm pantograph. * Cars 11 and 15 have a wheelchair space. * Car 11 has a

toilet. * Car 14 is designated as a mildly air-conditioned car. * Cars 13, 14, and 15 have some transverse seating bays.

Cold-weather 5-car sets

As of 1 October 2018, seven five-car sets (K551–K557) are based at Katsuta Depot and formed with two motored ("M") cars and three non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Car 13 has one single-arm pantograph. * Cars 11 and 15 have a wheelchair space. * Car 11 has a

toilet. * Car 14 is designated as a mildly air-conditioned car. * Cars 13, 14, and 15 have some transverse seating bays.

Original 10-car sets (July 2005 – March 2007)

The original ten-car sets delivered without bilevel Green cars were formed as follows. Sets K401–K406 Sets K407–K411 * Cars 3 and 8 each had one single-arm pantograph. * Cars 1 and 10 had a wheelchair space. * Cars 1, 5, and 10 each had a toilet (

in cars 1 and 10). * Car 8 was designated as a mildly air-conditioned car. * Cars 1, 2, 9, and 10 had some transverse seating bays.

Interior

File:Moha-E531-2012 Inside.jpg, An ordinary-class car with longitudinal seating in January 2022 File:Kuha-E530-12 Inside.jpg, An ordinary-class car with a mixture of longitudinal and transverse seating in January 2022 File:Moha-E531-2012 Inside Priority-seat.jpg, Priority seating in January 2022 File:Salo-E531-17 Green-car-1F.jpg, The lower deck of bilevel Green car SaRo E531-17 in January 2022 File:Salo-E531-17 Green-car-2F.jpg, The upper deck of bilevel Green car SaRo E531-17 in January 2022 File:Kuha-E530-12 Toilet.jpg, A toilet in January 2022

History

The first E531 series trains entered service on 9 July 2005. Pairs of double-deck "Green" (first class) cars were added to the ten-car sets from 6 January 2007, and all ten-car sets included Green cars by the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2007. Two trailer cars from sets K401–K411 (cars 4 and 5) were repurposed as cars 6 and 9 in sets K412–K422. As there were 12 SaHa E531-2000 cars and 10 SaHa E530-2000 cars being repurposed (the latter type has an air compressor missing from the former type), the SaHa E531-2012 car was modified to become SaHa E530-2022. In September 2014, an additional ten-car set, K423, was delivered from the

J-TREC 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 ...

factory in Yokohama, four years after construction of the original fleet had ceased. This was followed by seven new five-car sets (K469–K475) also delivered from J-TREC in Yokohama from December 2014 to March 2015. Seven cold-weather E531-3000 series sets (K551–K557) were built between October 2015 and March 2017. Later in 2017, three more 10-car sets (K424–K426) and two more five-car sets (K476 and K477) were built. Then, between 2019 and 2020, six more five-car sets (K478–K483) were built. On 26 March 2021, set K417 was involved in a collision between and . It collided with a passenger vehicle which caught fire and caused damage to the KuHa E531-17 car (car 10).

Special liveries

E531 K451 classic red train revival color 20211126

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Katsuta Depot, set K451 entered service on 5 November 2021 in a wrapping reminiscent of the livery of the 401 series trains.

References

External links

JR E531 series

JR East press release announcing new trains in December 2003
{{JR East EMU Electric multiple units of Japan Jōban Line East Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 2005 20 kV AC multiple units Kawasaki multiple units Tokyu Car multiple units J-TREC multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan