The is a

Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ B-B and Bo-Bo are the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and British classifications of wheel arrangement for railway locomotives with four axles in two individual bogies. They are equivalent to the B′B′ and Bo′Bo′ classifications in ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

multi-system AC/ DC two-unit electric locomotive type operated by

JR Freight , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

in Japan since 1997.

Operations

The locomotives are built at the

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

factory in

Fuchū, Tokyo 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in central Tokyo. The city hosts large scale manufacturing facilities for Toshiba, NEC a ...

. Initially, they were all based at

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

depot for use on long-distance container trains from the Tokyo area to

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

via the Tohoku Main Line, replacing DC Class EF65s south of Kuroiso, pairs of AC

Class ED75 The is a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1963. A total of 302 locomotives were built by Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Toshiba between 1963 and 1976. , just five locomo ...

s north of Kuroiso, and pairs of AC

Class ED79 The was a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in the north of Japan from 1986, originally by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) and J ...

s through the

Seikan Tunnel The Seikan Tunnel ( ja, 青函トンネル, or , ), is a dual-gauge railway tunnel in Japan, with a portion under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Aomori Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu from the northern isla ...

. In 2004, locomotives EH500-25 and EH500-27 were loaned in turn to Moji depot in

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuku ...

for trials. From 2007, a number of EH500s were transferred to Moji depot for use on 1,300 tonne freight trains between

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

and

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

through the Kanmon Tunnel, replacing ageing AC

Class ED76 The is a Bo-2-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1965, originally by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), Kyushu Railwa ...

s and dual-voltage EF81-300s and EF81-400s. , the fleet totalled 82 locomotives (EH500-901 and EH500-1 to EH500-81). 12 locomotives, EH500-45 to EH500-50 and EH500-67 to EH500-72, are based at Moji Depot, and the other 70 members of the class are based at Sendai.

Variants

* EH500-901: Prototype * EH500-1 – 2: Pre-series 1st batch * EH500-3 – 9: Full-production 2nd batch * EH500-10 –: 3rd batch

EH500-901

The prototype, EH500-901, was delivered to Sendai depot in September 1997 for extensive testing on the Tohoku Main Line and Kaikyo Line until March 1999. The livery is red and grey with black cab surrounds. It joined the rest of the Class EH500 fleet for use on revenue services from the start of the March 2000 timetable revision. " Kintaro Eco-Power" logos were added to the sides from December 2002. File:EH500-901 858 20151122.jpg, Prototype EH500-901 in November 2015

1st batch: EH500-1 and EH500-2

Two pre-series locomotives, EH500-1 and EH500-2, were delivered in March 2000. These locomotives are finished in a livery of maroon and grey with black cab surrounds. File:JRF-EH500-2 2011-0808.jpg, EH500-2 in August 2011

2nd batch: EH500-3 to EH500-9

Built from March 2000 to January 2001. The headlamps were moved to a higher position to reduce problems of blockage by snow. New "Kintaro Eco-Power" logos were added to the sides. File:JRF EH500-8 Tohoku-Line.jpg, EH500-8 in February 2022 File:EH500-3 Omiya Works 20070526.JPG, Inner end of EH500-3 undergoing overhaul in May 2007

3rd batch: EH500-10 onward

Locomotives from EH500-10 (delivered in August 2001) onward are painted in a revised colour scheme using bright red instead of the earlier maroon colour. The black colour around the cab windows was also discontinued. Locomotives numbered EH500-15 onwards have narrower surrounds on the front-end headlight boxes, and the front-end white band is also correspondingly slightly thinner. File:EH500-12 Takadanobaba 20030308.JPG, EH500-12 in March 2003 File:EH500-77.jpg, EH500-77 in February 2022 File:JR Freight Class EH500-38 with Cheer up Tohoku banner-P1030014.JPG, EH500-38 in December 2011 with a "Cheer up Tohoku!" sticker added after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

Classification

The EH500 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. As with previous locomotive designs, the prototype is numbered EH500-901, with subsequent production locomotives numbered from EH500-1 onward. * E: Electric locomotive * H: Eight driving axles * 500: AC/DC locomotive with AC motors

References

{{Jrfloco 1500 V DC locomotives 20 kV AC locomotives Electric locomotives of Japan EH500 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1998 Toshiba locomotives Multi-system locomotives Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ locomotives