New rolling stock for Yamanote Line- 235 series

[mrp]

I personally think Ken Okuyama struck out on this one.

 

It reminds me of something but I just can’t quite put my finger on it.  Maybe some particular child’s toy or something…

 

I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of some of his other train designs either.  I reckon this one looks like a shuttle train for the Burj-Al-Arab - the world’s most garish hotel.

 

I don’t mind his Shinkansen designs - but I guess in those cases he was limited to just the paint job, and the external shape would have come from the engineers and wind tunnels.

 

[ToniBabelony]

2.  Aesthetically, I don't like the end design where the green does this weird non-smooth blend into black, but I have a theory as to why it is so.  Now, this theory may be just speculative nonsense, but here goes - I think it's an optical illusion (or an optical mesmerizer).   The eyes don't focus on it immediately.  While the eyes look at it subconsciously to try to figure out what to make of it, the body freezes.   The idea might be to get people on the platform to subconsciously slow down when a train is pulling in to a platform.  Working against this theory is the scale issue - the optical illusion may not be visbile from far away.  In that case, it's just an ugly design.

 

Well, you know the people on the platform won't actually see the dotted front design when the train approaches, so it's really a gimmick the designers came up with. This kind of pop-art element is having a revival in the Japanese art scene (and beyond), which I think is kind of interesting to see it return on the most iconic of commuter lines. 

 

Also, on the topic of suicides by Yamanote line: this train isn't designed to hit people as gently as possible because there will be platform doors all over the place when they are in full swing. If someone is dedicated to actually commit suicide and climb over the platform doors (providing they are on the platform), then a design to avoid lethal injury won't really help. People who want to jump in front of a train probably don't care about the design either.

 

The train is maximised for empty space on the sides, but aren't all modern commuter trains like that? And when do we actually see advertisements in action at large?

 

Anyway, I've seen the E231s come and now I can see them go. This will be the new overlord (which I probably ride only a few times per year). Progress comes at a price and that price is much lower than the operation costs of the previous types. xD

[railsquid]

I was kind of annoyed when I first heard about the introduction of platform doors on the Yamanote Line, because my first thought is that it would spoil the view of the trains. However now I'm glad they're there to hide these ones.

 

Previous Yamanote line train designs have always been a significant advance compared to the previous generation, but it looks like we're stuck on the E231/233/235 basic look, which is probably all very efficient but evidently the only way to differentiate between generations seems to be design gimmicks. I can't say this design particularly appeals to me, at least externally, but it will be largely hidden by the platform doors. I hope at leas the interior will be better - one thing I don't like so much about the E231s is their very grey interior which seems more drab than the previous 205s.

[kvp]

I think i found the prototype for the front design:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71g5TNZgEaL._SL1500_.jpg

 

 

[mrp]

I think i found the prototype for the front design:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71g5TNZgEaL._SL1500_.jpg

 

I wish I could remember where I’ve seen that *exact* front shape and colour before.  I keep getting flashes of déjà vu.  Maybe the lid of some type of food container.  Or a Bionicles box.  Dunno.  It’s really stuck in my head now…

 

 

Edited March 26, 2015 by mrp

[Sacto1985]

I think it's going to be very interesting to see how passengers will react to the new E235's, especially since there will be no more cardboard advertisements on the train, replaced all by LCD displays.

 

(EDIT: By the way, any guess on when will this test trainset be shipped to start actual testing on the Yamanote Line itself?)

Edited March 27, 2015 by Sacto1985

[Guest ___]

I for one welcome our new 235 overlords. I like the design. It did take a little time for me to warm up to it. I welcome it much more than those &^$%# ! platform barrier; bane to railway photographers everywhere!

 

I know the current test-type train set is set to enter service this fall. Is there a time line for when the full series will enter service. I'm sure they will all be in use by the Olympics, just wondering how many will be in service by Oct/Nov of this year when I'm out there fanning from Kanda

Edited March 27, 2015 by Shashinka

[katoftw]

I think it's going to be very interesting to see how passengers will react to the new E235's, especially since there will be no more cardboard advertisements on the train, replaced all by LCD displays.

I doubt their will be much reaction.  Yamanote is one of the last Tokyo base lines to get trainsets with this feature.

Edited March 27, 2015 by katoftw

[railsquid]

I doubt their will be much reaction.  Yamanote is one of the last Tokyo base lines to get trainsets with this feature.

 

Wut? The Yamanote line had LCD (or maybe plasma) above-door advertising displays in 1993 and was the first line to get the new big information screens. It's all-digital adverts which will be new.

Edited March 27, 2015 by railsquid

[katoftw]

I wonder what train I travelled in Tokyo I'm thinking of then?  All but one had LCD screens above the doors.  Will have to dig into the images archives to find out.

 

But in saying that, if they have had LCD screens since 1993.  Then having LCD screens in the new 235s wont get a reaction from commuters then.

[ToniBabelony]

But in saying that, if they have had LCD screens since 1993. Then having LCD screens in the new 235s wont get a reaction from commuters then.

All display-ads will most certainly get reactions from the public:http://img.response.jp/imgs/zoom/715475.jpg

 

It clears up the headroom and focuses on ads on the wall, instead of creating a visual mess in the middle of the car.

[railsquid]

Damn, I hope those ad screens will have static images and don't play videos otherwise it's going to be distracting...

 

I wonder what train I travelled in Tokyo I'm thinking of then?  All but one had LCD screens above the doors.  Will have to dig into the images archives to find out.

 

Possibly you're thinking about the Shonan-Shinjuku line?

 

Apart from the Yamanote 205s, in general only the most recent generation of trains have them. Most trains introduced from around 2008~2010 (a rough guess) have one or two display panels, e.g (from memory of the ones I use with any frequency) Keihin-Tohoku/Chuo/Saikyo line E233s, Tokyo 5000s, Tokyo Metro 10000s, new Ginza line trains, probably a few more that I forget or don't know about. Tokyo Metro 02s (Marunouchi line) have had some retrofitted to display line/station information but that's quite unusual. Most other trains will have the LED character displays only, and there are probably some still knocking about without even those.

[ToniBabelony]

Private railways in the Kanto still rock a ton of trains without any form of display. Not even simple LED.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Toni Babelony

[railsquid]

Yeah, my above statement applies mainly to trains which run through the central Tokyo area (or at least the lines I've been on recently). I must get out more...

[Densha]

SInce 5 years or so they have been installing LCD's in practically all trains of the Dutch railways. This video doesn't mention ads, but they do show ads on the screens as well which is very annoying because you can't see the travel info if an ad is showing...

 

And please excuse the poor Dutch English subtitles. :P

 

[trainsforever8]

I've been watching lots of E235 videos lately and I am starting to warm up to this train. There's also something that I noticed, the livery maybe "light", but did anybody else notice how bright and flashy the green of the train is? When you look at it beside another train or in videos where the sky is cloudy, the green of the train stands out much more and I think that perhaps, this is to make up for the lack of stripes, they might be trying to use the japanese cultural aspect of "humble with an element of surprise". This is just a theory however.

[Guest ___]

I remember when SMRT and SBS installed the LCDs on the bussed and trains ten years ago. People were constantly missing stops distracted by the adverts on the LCD's.

[kvp]

The proper way to control these is to show the stop on every LCD. So they might play ads or even weather and news (like in Graz, Austria) when the vehicle is moving, but just before each stop they should change to the line map indicating the current stop and any connecting lines. This means everyone will be alerted to the stop and people who don't know the line has to watch the ads to see the station infos.

[katoftw]

Which is how Japan rail companies already do it.

[railsquid]

I know the current test-type train set is set to enter service this fall. Is there a time line for when the full series will enter service. I'm sure they will all be in use by the Olympics, just wondering how many will be in service by Oct/Nov of this year when I'm out there fanning from Kanda

 

The prototype unit was at Shinagawa today being introduced to the press (it was on the TV news), and will be running in passenger service from autumn. It will take about 3 years for the existing trains to be replaced/.

 

Video here: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20150328/k10010031021000.html

Edited March 28, 2015 by railsquid

[Sacto1985]

Watch for the prototype trainset to run on weekends in non-revenue testing running on the Yamanote Line itself within the next few months.

[Guest ___]

I jsut want to see one in OCT/NOV and hug it. daisuki desu!!

[bikkuri bahn]

FWIW, Railway Gazette article:

JAPAN: East Japan Railway has unveiled a prototype for its next generation of electric multiple-units to operate the 1 067 mm gauge Yamanote Loop around the centre of the capital. This heavily-used 34·5 km circular line serves the main Tokyo Station as well as the key interchange at Shinjuku, which is used by more than three million passengers/day.

Built by J-TREC, the 11-car Series E235 EMU is expected to enter passenger service later this year. It has six motor cars and five trailers, including two driving cars. One intermediate trailer has been re-used from an older Series E231, which has been the mainstay of Yamanote Loop services since replacing the earlier Series 205 units in 2002.

 

more:

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/jr-east-unveils-yamanote-loop-series-e235-emu.html

[railsquid]

A feature which has hitherto garnered little attention is the provision of roof-mounted airbags to mitigate the impact of falling catenary masts.

 

[Robert46]

Hi All,

 

IMHO, the E231-500 is the most beautiful model for Yamanote Line.. as for the new E235series, it definitely looks futuristic, but I don't really like the color scheme and the front shape of end cars..

 

It looks like an electronic device case at a glance...  I forgot the device, maybe a cellphone/smartphone, powerbank or usb case, coz that's what came thru my mind when I looked at the shape..