Development of new commuter trains in Tokyo

Abstract

The East Japan Railway (EJR) operates a 7500 km railway network that covers Tokyo and the northern and eastern areas of Japan. Its transportation is concentrated in the Tokyo area. It has about 8000 electric multiple units (EMUs) for this transportation, and is constructing 300-400 EMUs per year to improve trains or to replace old ones and to improve passenger services. After the division of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1987, EJR replaced about half of the EMUs in Tokyo with newly developed trains that had a lightweight stainless body and a regenerating brake. EJR is developing the new Series E231 train to succeed them from the year 2000. It has adopted information technology for control, passenger information and self-diagnosis. The new train uses 50 per cent less energy than the old ones, replaces checking and inspection with a diagnosis system and reduces construction costs by about 10 per cent by comparison with Series 209 developed in 1992. EJR is constructing the EMUs itself and designed E231 with the collaboration of a car constructor using a CALS (computer aided logistics system). A prototype was completed in October 1998. After bench and running tests, it was put into service in March 1999. The trains, in series production, will be completed from March 2000 by EJR and the car constructor. EJR will construct 950 Series E231 trains before March 2003.