more JR East E531s

[miyakoji]

With the first formations being over 10 years old, JR East continues to take delivery of new E531s.  I see these are numbered as 5000 subseries, but I don't know what significant technical differences there are, if any.  If these are intended for 15-year service lives (I assume they are), it will be interesting to see how JR phases out the older ones while keeping the newer ones in service.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E531_series

 

http://railf.jp/news/2015/10/16/160000.html

http://railf.jp/news/2015/11/06/150000.html

 

formation K551 at Zushi after leaving the J-Trec factory.  I guess these must cross Keikyu track to get to JR Zushi.

 

formation K552 in service at Matsudo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG6r99JgR4Y

 

formation K553 at Zushi

Edited January 1, 2016 by miyakoji

[Sacto1985]

I believe E531 K55x five-car production trainsets will be assigned primarily to the JR East Mito Line between Oyama to Mito and on the JR East Jōban Line north of Tsuchiura all the way to possibly Iwaki.

[Kabutoni]

Yep, these new five car sets will kill off the last few remaining 415-1500 Series.

[miyakoji]

Ah, I see, thanks. The only JR East (or anywhere in eastern Japan) operation I have the slightest idea about is the Sobu rapid :). I didn't know the are still 415s at the far end of the Joban Line

[Kabutoni]

Slowly these units should also replace the last few E501 Series, but these aren't scheduled for replacement just yet.

 

I'm glad to have experienced the 415-1500 and E501s in their last years, but the E531s are improvements over their predecessors in many ways.

[Sacto1985]

Yep, these new five car sets will kill off the last few remaining 415-1500 Series.

 

Aren't those 415's getting way up there in years?

[SuRoNeFu 25-501]

I see these are numbered as 5000 subseries, but I don't know what significant technical differences there are, if any

Actually they are numbered in the 3000 subseries. The most significant technical difference between the E531-0 and E531-3000 is the improvement of cold and snowy region specifications that applied to the E531-3000, which means that they could operate safely in the area that tends to having colder temperature and higher rate of snowfalls during the winter like Ibaraki and Tochigi. Also, the MoHa E530-4000 and MoHa E531-3000 cars are having small ventilation grills located between the window and the door (just like the 205 series' MoHa 204 and MoHa 205 cars).

[Sacto1985]

The most significant technical difference between the E531-0 and E531-3000 is the improvement of cold and snowy region specifications that applied to the E531-3000, which means that they could operate safely in the area that tends to having colder temperature and higher rate of snowfalls during the winter like Ibaraki and Tochigi. 

 

That does explain why JR East assigned the new E531-3000 EMU's to the Mito Line from Oyama to Mito (Tochigi and Ibaraki Prefectures) and the Jōban Line (Ibaraki Prefecture) north of Tsuchiura--probably as far north as Iwaki.

[Kabutoni]

Aren't those 415's getting way up there in years?

Yes. Looking at them up close reveals their wear and age quite a bit.

[SuRoNeFu 25-501]

Yes. Looking at them up close reveals their wear and age quite a bit.

And this year the 415-1500 will reach its 30th year in its career (the first 415-1500 trainset entered service in 1986)...

[JR 500系]

Wow all these pictures & videos is making me tempted to get the E531 model....  :(

[miyakoji]

Wow all these pictures & videos is making me tempted to get the E531 model....  :(

Yes I like it too.  I rode one back in late '06 or so, it still had that new train smell .  As I wrote above, I don't know the finer points of really any operations in eastern Japan, I like this one mostly because of its appearance and because I think the dual voltage types are cool.

[miyakoji]

According to that Wikipedia article, they are mixing in new builds into the 10-car fleet also.  These would not be assigned to the distant sections of the Joban, correct?  K423 arrived October 3, 2014 (with green cars), while K401 arrived in March 2005 and got its green cars about 18 months later.  So within the same type and probably same depot and service pool, they've got some that are almost 11 years old and one that's just over a year old.  And the 5-car fleet has K467 and K468 which were built in 2010.

[Sacto1985]

I really have to wonder--are these new five-car E531-3000 trainsets still being built with dual-mode (20 kV 50 Hz AC and 1,500 V DC) operation, which will allow these trainsets to operate into Tokyo over the Jōban Line?

[miyakoji]

I'm sure they are.  You can count on any type numbered in the 400s to 600s to be dual voltage.

[Kabutoni]

Even if these are only designated to run on the Mito line, they are dual voltage, as the Mito line sees a break of voltage directly after Oyama station.

[SuRoNeFu 25-501]

Even if these are only designated to run on the Mito line, they are dual voltage, as the Mito line sees a break of voltage directly after Oyama station.

The dead section itself was created due to the presence of Kakioka Magnetic Observatory, located in the city of Ishioka (where portion of both Joban Line and Mito Line are passing through the magnetic observatory's observation coverage area. The portion of Mito Line that passes the coverage area is between Oyama and Otabayashi). Since the AC electrification does not have bad effect on observatory's equipments, JNR decided to electrify Mito Line with DC for section inside Oyama station and between Oyama and Otabayashi, and using AC for the rest of section from Otabayashi to Tomobe.

Edited January 3, 2016 by SuRoNeFu 25-501

[miyakoji]

The dead section itself was created due to the presence of Kakioka Magnetic Observatory, located in the city of Ishioka (where portion of both Joban Line and Mito Line are passing through the magnetic observatory's observation coverage area. The portion of Mito Line that passes the coverage area is between Oyama and Otabayashi). Since the AC electrification does not have bad effect on observatory's equipments, JNR decided to electrify Mito Line with DC for section inside Oyama station and between Oyama and Otabayashi, and using AC for the rest of section from Otabayashi to Tomobe.

 

Yeah this sounds familiar, the Tsukuba Express is dual voltage for the same reason isn't it?

[Sacto1985]

The reason why the Jōban Line from around Fujishiro Station north uses 20 kV 50 Hz AC is because of that geomagnetic observatory. But why the change from 1,500 V DC to 20 kV AC north of Kuroiso Station on the Tōhoku Main Line, unless it's due to need to have less substations along the way and better winter weather resistance north of this station.

 

I'm actually surprised the entire Mito Line is not fully 20 kV AC, with a power line break at Oyama Station.

[SuRoNeFu 25-501]

Yeah this sounds familiar, the Tsukuba Express is dual voltage for the same reason isn't it?

Yes, for the same reason. Actually the Tsukuba Express section north of Moriya is the nearest one with the geomagnetic observatory.

 

 

I'm actually surprised the entire Mito Line is not fully 20 kV AC, with a power line break at Oyama Station.

The dead section is located slightly to the east of Oyama station, but is still inside the area of Oyama City (^^);

[200系]

Well... this thread moved a lot faster then I expected, so I hope I can still contribute something of value with my response.

 

 

 

If these are intended for 15-year service lives (I assume they are), it will be interesting to see how JR phases out the older ones while keeping the newer ones in service.

 

The 'Jūryō hanbun, kakaku hanbun, jumyō hanbun' (Half weight, half price, half life) concept, introduced with the 209系, and used for every commuter/suburban EMU series JR East introduced in the Kantō region since then, is in my opinion one of the most misunderstood concepts of the modern Japanese railway system.

 

The purpose of the 209系 concept was mainly to significantly reduce the acquisition cost of new commuter cars, A desire that had already started to form during the final years of the J.N.R. era.

With the standard commuter type of the 'new performance' era, the 103系 rapidly approaching obsolescence during the mid 70's, as well as a smaller, but ageing fleet of 101系 cars, there was a real need to design and built a successor to those series which could enter service into the early 80's, the result was the 201系. While the chopper control of the 201系 reduced energy consumption considerably over the resistor control of the 103系 and other 'new performance' series, and performed satisfactory, the cars where expensive to build. As the financial position of J.N.R. was anything but rosy near the final decade of it's existence, they had to look for another solution to replace the large number of older 'new performance' types still running around the Kantō and Kansai area at that point in time.

 

As the most pressing issue with the 103系 was it's relatively high energy consumption, a way to lower energy consumption had to be found. While the 201系 used a chopper (thyristor control) to improve it's energy efficiency, the installation it's self proved to be expensive. So for the successor to the 201系, the 205系, the body was made from stainless steel, which in combination with newly designed lightweight bolsterless trucks, reduced the car's mass considerably (34.4t for a MoHa 204 vs 41.5t for a MoHa 200). This lower weight made the use of less powerful (and thus consuming lower amounts of energy) traction motors (120kw vs 150kw) possible, providing the required jump in energy efficiency without the need for the expensive chopper installation (the 205系 reverted back to a modified resistor control system). As a result, the 205系 entered mass production in 1984, spreading all across the Kantō region, production continuing after JR East took over with the final cars delivered in march of 1991. The same concept of a lightweight stainless steel car using resistor control was used for the 211系 and 213系, which where designed as a replacement for ageing 111系/113系 and 115系 cars.

 

After the split of J.N.R. in 1987, JR East still had a large fleet of ageing 103系 cars at their disposal (3,447 103系 cars where built between 1963~1984, though only different batches from 1963~1981 and 1983~1984 could be found in the Kantō area (ignoring the different sub-groups, as well as cars built and delivered for other areas, like for instance the Kansai, Tōkai and Sendai regions, as they are of no consequence for this subject.), the financial situation of JR East just after the split and the fact that the 205系 concept it's self was already a few years old at that point, and nowhere near the cutting edge of development anymore, it was decided a new type of general use (commuter/suburban) EMU type was needed.

 

The concept of what would later become the 209系, was based around a desire to create a vehicle that would be: Half the weight, half the price and half the life.

 

- Half the weight -> by further reducing the vehicle mass in relation to the 205系, it would be possible to use even lighter traction motors and components, as well as simplifying the construction process and reducing cost.

 

- Half the price -> by simplifying the construction methods, and the materials used a further reduction in capital costs could be achieved.

 

- Half the life -> by building a vehicle that was both cheaper to build and cheaper to run, it was possible to reduce the time need for the vehicle to fully depreciate. While with the older series it may have taken between 20 to 26 years before the vehicle was fully paid off (i.e. fully depreciated) for the new vehicles it would take between 10 and 13 years. This is not to be confused with the technical life expectancy of the vehicle which can be much longer, it's actually the economic life expectancy.

It also means that the cars should be "maintenance free" for up to 13 years, basically they should be able to function without a large inspection for at least the first 13 years of their service life (regular and smaller inspections are of course still necessary). 

 

In short, half the life doesn't mean the vehicle will be unable to be used after 13 years in service, nor does it mean it will fall apart at exactly 15 years like a member once eloquently explained, all it means is that after 10~15 years JR East has to decide whether to refurbish the equipment or to write it off and scrap it, as it has been fully paid off at that point.

 

The 209系0番台 cars which where used on the Keihin-Tōhoku line are probably the best know example of the "lesser built quality" of the 'hanbun' series. As they where the first of the 'hanbun' series to be introduced by JR East (actually, the 901系 prototype trains where, but the 209系 is a further development of this series), and therefore the first to reach the 13 year mark. As they reached their 13 year mark some of the older cars (especially the 901系 prototype formations) started to show some issues, skin buckling became an issue as the limitations of the lighter construction of the car became apparent, secondary equipment also began to fail more frequently leading to more frequent delays among the already (over) crowded Keihin-Tohoku. Though JR East was planning to refurbish the series, and had already performed some work on the carbodies in 2004, the Fukuchiyama-sen derailment in 2005 and the subsequent scrutiny all JR companies suddenly found them self in,forced JR East to accelerate the retirement of the ageing 209系 cars as opposed to the planned refurbishment. New E233系 formations where ordered as a replacement in 2006, and the remaining 209系 formations where retired between 2008 and 2010 after 15 years of service (though most cars only managed 12 years on the Keihin-Tōhoku).

Scrapping started in 2008, but after a short period the decision was recalled, and a number of 209系0番台 where refurbished and renumbered into the 209系2000番台/2100番台. The oldest of which will reach her 23rd birthday in two months time.

 

In the end the legacy of the 209系, and the 'hanbun' series in general will always be muddled by the issues between 2002 and 2006. Though to be fair there where some deficiencies with the 209系 body design, which where later rectified by the E231系 and the 209系500番台, which do have a more solid reputation in Japan, but I still think the 209系 served it's purpose, and was a solid series in the end (even though I'm personally not a huge fan of the 209系 (with the exception of the 209系500番台 which is probably my favourite post J.N.R. split commuter series)).

 

To add to my point we only have to look at a few of the older 'hanbun' series still being used by JR East:

 

- 209系2000番台/2100番台 used on the: Uchibō, Sotobō, Tōgane, Sōbu (Chiba), Narita Airport and Kashima lines.

original 0番台 cars built for the Keihin-Tōhoku. The oldest cars will reach 23 years this year, the youngest 19.

 

- 209系500番台 used on the: Chūō-Sōbu, Keiyō and Musashino lines, built between 1998~2000, all formations still in service (though three cars have been scrapped) with the oldest poised to reach their 18th birthday this year.

 

- E217系 used on the Sōbu-Yokosuka line, built between 1994~1999 refurbished in 2012. the oldest formations will reach their 22nd birthday this year.

 

Anyway, my answer is a bit long for: The 15 year max service life is not set in stone, there's a good chance they'll remain in service beyond 15 years.

 

 

 

And this year the 415-1500 will reach its 30th year in its career (the first 415-1500 trainset entered service in 1986)...

 

Correct, in A few months time in fact. The first 415系1500番台 was delivered in February 1986, while the final formation was delivered in February of 1991.

Though by no means the oldest formations left at JR East (a few 189系 cars from 1975 vintage remain for instance) they are getting there in years.

 

The oldest 501系 cars, delivered between 1995~1997 are also starting to age, though as Toni mentioned I haven't heard anything about a replacement for them either.

 

 

 

 

But why the change from 1,500 V DC to 20 kV AC north of Kuroiso Station on the Tōhoku Main Line, unless it's due to need to have less substations along the way and better winter weather resistance north of this station.

 

If you look at a map, and look through the history of the post war nationwide electrification project, you'll notice that the 20Kv AC areas (Northern Tōhoku, Hokkaido, Kyūshū and sections of the Hokuriku line) where all reached near the end of the project.

 

J.N.R. had wanted to introduce commercial frequency AC power since the end of the war, even going as far as proposing to import the technology from France (the SNCF was on the foreground of commercial frequency AC traction at that point in time, as they where rapidly electrifying their northern network using a 25Kv 50hz, while using mercury rectifiers (as well as testing several other solutions) for their locomotives (BB12000 class). Later the introduction of the silicon rectifier improved AC traction even further.) but due to lobbying from domestic manufacturers, J.N.R. decided to go ahead with it's own AC program in the mid 50's. And a 20Kv 50/60hz (50hz in the north, 60hz in the south, 20Kv because that was the voltage level already used to supply the 1.5Kv sub-stations with) system was adopted. As DC electrification has proven to be more costly, the final sections still to be electrified (Northern Tōhoku, Hokkaido and Kyūshū) where to be using the 20Kv AC system. So this, in short, is why those regions use AC traction    

Edited January 3, 2016 by 200系

[JR 500系]

Wow... Sander san never fails to amaze us ~  Great information and not only restricted to shinkansens!  :)

[kvp]

This is great information as always. Thanks!

 

I think most of us doesn't think the 15 year lifespan is set in stone but i think there must be an engineered life expectancy somewhere (which is usually usage dependent). I've seen a hungarian light dmu type literally fall apart after around 30 years of service and the same happens nowdays with a similar lighter bus type with some units failing structurally in service. On the other end some early 1960-ies trains and buses remain operational and structurally sound. I assume JRE would retire a train long before a bogie falls off, a car end gets torn off or a bogie throws a wheel out (we had these in Hungary). But what are the real life expectancy limits of modern japanese rolling stock like a 235 series compared to an older train like a 103 or a 12 series? (the latter staying in service for a really impressive time) Both from a structural and traction equipment point of view?

[Sacto1985]

I think in the end, I think they got get a tad too "cheap" with the 209 EMU's, especially when "wear and tear" issues became prominent by the 12th year of operation. That's why it appears that E231 and E233 EMU's--built from the experience learned from the construction and operation of the 209's--look a bit more durable and those could probably last over 20 years in service.

 

However, I still think JR East may expand its 209 EMU retirements. Though still in testing now, the E235 EMU could become the basis for a new batch of EMU's that will eventually replace the 209's down the road--and they will need it on the Musashino Line and Chūō-Sōbu Line service first, since these lines are highly patronized by commuters (in fact, I really do expect JR East probably by fall 2016 to introduce the E235 to replace the 209 and E231 EMU on the Chūō-Sōbu Line probably starting the second half of 2017).

[miyakoji]

Yeah I don't expect parts to start falling off at 15 years, nor do I expect the cars to be retired immediately around that time.  But, they're designed and built with shorter service lives in mind.  In this case, they've got a little over 10 years between the oldest and newest and they may still get more.  I think of JR East and Central in particular as wanting to standardize, and this difference in ages could complicate a smooth phase-out of the series.  But they've probably thought of this.  Then again they bought 15 new locos and sold 13 on to JRF 5 years later. ;)