New Type: JR East E657

[miyakoji]

Alright, a new JR East express type!  The back of the cab roof where it melds into the roof above the passenger cabin looks somewhat similar to the E259, I'm looking forward to seeing the real thing.  Electrical equipment should be different though as this will be AC/DC.

 

http://railf.jp/news/2010/12/07/181000.html

 

[Tecchan]

Looks very similar to the E259 indeed!

[disturbman]

Any idea which services it will run?

[bikkuri bahn]

Any idea which services it will run?

 

Ueno-Iwaki ltd. express services on the Joban Line, currently in the hands of 651 series "Super Hitachi".

[disturbman]

I'm impressed. I thought that these new sets might be used to replace older sets like the 485 Series used on the Hokuetsu and Inaho services.

[CaptOblivious]

I wondered when they would retire then 651 series, which dates to 1989. I don't know if I like this new design or not, but I'm excited to see a new design…just waiting for the model announcement so I can begin drooling, etc.

[to2leo]

I like it, I like it alot!  The compartment and its front lights certainly look like E259 but somehow it also reminds me of the E653 Series.

[Guest ___]

Any idea which services it will run?

 

Ueno-Iwaki ltd. express services on the Joban Line, currently in the hands of 651 series "Super Hitachi".

 

I like this a LOT more than the 651, but I Agree, would have figured this might likely replace the remaining 485's...

[KenS]

Very nice train. Wikipedia already has both English and Japanese pages on it, apparently based on JRE's press release (Japanese PDF) from yesterday.

 

I can't quite make out the translation, but it sounds like it's being introduced in the spring of 2012, and then service is being expanded or changed in the fall.

 

Also, Wikipedia says that it's going to be used on both the Super Hitachi and Fresh Hitachi, replacing the 651 series and the E653 (which is only 13 years old). I'll bet the latter end up replacing 485's on other services, as the E653 has Hitachi's "modular interior" system allowing one to be easily reconfigured (i.e., it wouldn't be hard to customize them for some of the special uses served by the 485 series).

 

And apparently in addition to Wifi, electrical outlets and "large" (does that just mean western, or wheelchair accessible?) toilets and a smoother ride, the new trains also have electric defibrulators in the entranceway for emergency use.

 

It's a very nice-looking train too, although I'll miss the color of the E653. Still, I can't wait for a model.

[disturbman]

Also, Wikipedia says that it's going to be used on both the Super Hitachi and Fresh Hitachi, replacing the 651 series and the E653 (which is only 13 years old). I'll bet the latter end up replacing 485's on other services, as the E653 has Hitachi's "modular interior" system allowing one to be easily reconfigured (i.e., it wouldn't be hard to customize them for some of the special uses served by the 485 series).

 

That's what wikipedia states about those E653:

 

From spring 2012, with the introduction of new E657 series EMUs, the E653 series trains are scheduled to be phased out from Fresh Hitachi services and reassigned to new limited express services operating on the Jōban Line between Iwaki and Sendai.

[Nozomi]

JR East is unsurpassable for the huge amount of new train designs. The model train manufacturers must be grateful too...<br /><br />This one's another cutie!

[Guest ___]

I just can't help but wonder if JR-E is designing new trains more often to keep the railcar builders fed, or if they just have to keep their own people busy. Or, is it a matter of the newer trains jsut being built with planned obsolesce with shorter services lives by design to explain my first point?  If you look at the sheer number of JRN rolling stock still in service on JR-E, yet over the course of the past few years, many newer designs dating back less than 20 years are being replaced, yet the older JRN stocks continues to be in revenue service. Also note JR-W and other JR groups seem to be less of a hurry to replace any (newer or older) equipment.

[miyakoji]

Yeah, good question Shashinka.  JRE's 209 series was the first of the 15-20 year life cycle rolling stock as far as I know, and the 651 series predates that, but maybe some of that thinking was around and applied to the 651 series as well.

[disturbman]

Also, those trains runs on heavily used corridors unlike most of JNR era rolling-stock that are kept in some backwater mainlines.

 

I see it like that:

- trains are getting older much quicklier on services such as the Hitachi and Fresh Hitachi than on the Hokuetsu thus needing more frequent replacement. Now that modern rolling-stock have a shorter life-cycle, the tear and wear is accelerated and make the pattern even clearer.

- also, it might somehow be more prestigious for JRE (and the others JRs) to place new more up to date rolling-stock on those heavily used services than to update half-empty or more than half-empty trains. I remember riding a 485 Series in Kyushu and we were only three in my car.

[Guest ___]

Well as so far as JR-K goes, while in Miyazaki, most of the trains were Kiha 40, 415, and 485. (There were a few newer trains, but not many, like the 817 and the 783's) but then when you look at JR-W which still uses the 103's on the Kyoto Line and hell even the Osaka Loop Line...

[to2leo]

Aside from wear and tear, there's also competition between other transportation companies in JRE's busier routes...so having a new design once in a while will attract new customers and attention.

 

Also, I think the newer models are more energy efficient and have more gadgets for the riders while costing less than doing upgrade with the existing stock.

[Guest ___]

I'd think that would apply to JR-W through Osaka then as well. In fact, I believe I rode more private lines in Osaka this year than I did in Tokyo. Maybe there's less overlapping of lines in Kansai.

[bikkuri bahn]

Just expanding on what others have mentioned previously, JR East's policy is to introduce new rolling stock at a rather high rate compared to other companies, in an effort to increase energy efficiency and probably also to reduce maintenance costs.  Of course new stock also provides a marketing boost.  It helps that JR East is a rich company that can afford rolling stock upgrades.  OTOH JR West is more conservative in its rolling stock program, introducing new types only on high traffic routes, especially those locked in competition with private railways.  Otherwise, older types are kept in operation as long as possible, with replacement done when reaching service life limits (quite long on EMUs especially on commuter types).

[Nozomi4ever]

The train look a little similar like the Tsugaru E751 doesn't it?