E2 Series Shinkansen

E2 series
300px An E2 series approaching Omiya Station in February 2011
In service	1997–Present
Manufacturer	Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Nippon Sharyo, Tokyu Car Corporation
Constructed	1995–2010
Scrapped	2013–
Number built	502 vehicles (53 sets)
Number in service	382 vehicles (39 sets) (as of 1 October 2015)
Number scrapped	120 vehicles (14 sets)
Formation	8/10 cars per trainset
Capacity	10-car J sets: 815 (51 Green + 764 Standard) 8-car N sets: 630 (51 Green + 579 Standard)
Operator(s)	JR East
Depot(s)	Sendai, Nagano
Line(s) served	Tohoku Shinkansen, Joetsu Shinkansen, Nagano Shinkansen
Specifications
Car body construction	Aluminium
Car length	25,700 mm (84 ft 4 in) (end cars), 25,000 mm (82 ft 0 in) (intermediate cars)
Width	3,380 mm (11 ft 1 in)
Doors	2 per side
Maximum speed	275 km/h (170 mph) (Tohoku Shinkansen), 260 km/h (160 mph) (Nagano Shinkansen)
Traction system	(AC) MT205 (24 x 300 kW (400 hp) per 8-car train, 32 x 300 kW (400 hp) per 10-car train)
Power output	7.2 MW (9,700 hp) (for 8-car train), 9.6 MW (12,900 hp) (for 10-car train)
Electric system(s)	25 kV AC, 50/60 Hz overhead catenary
Current collection method	Pantograph
Safety system(s)	ATC-2, DS-ATC
Multiple working	400/E3 series
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The E2 series (E2系, E 2-kei) is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku and Nagano Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets are used on the Nagano Shinkansen, and the 10-car sets on Tohoku Shinkansen services. The 10-car sets can be coupled to E3 series sets using couplers hidden behind retracting nose doors.

They operate at a maximum speed of 275 km/h (170 mph) on the Tohoku Shinkansen and 260 km/h (160 mph) on the Nagano Shinkansen.

A total of 502 vehicles (14 8-car "N" sets and 39 10-car "J" sets) were built between 1997 and 2010, but the first withdrawals commenced in late 2013.

Operations

Nagano Shinkansen

• Asama

Tohoku Shinkansen

• Hayate
• Yamabiko
• Nasuno

Joetsu Shinkansen

• Toki (from 26 January 2013)
• Tanigawa (from 26 January 2013)

Past operations

Joetsu Shinkansen

• Asahi
• Toki

Variants

• E2 series 8-car "N" sets
• E2' series 10-car "J" sets
• E2-1000 series 10-car "J" sets

8-car "N" sets

8-car set N11 on an Asama service, June 2002

The fleet of thirteen "N" sets was constructed for the new Asama services on the newly constructed Nagano Shinkansen to Nagano from 1 October 1997, and are classified simply "E2 series". Units N2 onwards were delivered from March 1997 to September 1997. These sets are compatible with both the 50 Hz supply used by JR East and the 60 Hz supply used west of Karuizawa on the Nagano Shinkansen, and are limited to a maximum speed of 260 km/h. Tohoku Shinkansen set J1 was transferred to Nagano depot in October 2002 and renumbered as set N21.

The fleet of "N" sets is scheduled to undergo life-extension refurbishment from fiscal 2013.

Formation

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Designation	T1c	M2	M1	M2	M1k	M2	M1s	T2c
Numbering	E223	E226-100	E225	E226-200	E225-400	E226-300	E215	E224
Seating capacity	55	100	85	100	75	100	51	64

Cars 4 and 6 are equipped with PS205 scissors-type pantographs.

Fleet list

As of 1 April 2015, the fleet is as follows, with just four of the original sets in service.

Set number	Manufacturer	Date delivered	Date withdrawn	Remarks
N1		6 June 1995	9 July 2014	Pre-series set S6
N2	Kawasaki HI	25 March 1997	1 September 2014
N3	Hitachi	16 April 1997	1 December 2014
N4	Kawasaki HI	25 April 1997	23 April 2014
N5	Nippon Sharyo	14 May 1997
N6	Hitachi	29 May 1997	17 June 2014
N7	Nippon Sharyo	13 June 1997
N8	Kawasaki HI	27 June 1997	26 May 2014
N9	Hitachi	11 July 1997	26 September 2014
N10	Nippon Sharyo	25 July 1997
N11	Hitachi	8 August 1997	1 August 2014
N12	Tokyu Car	25 August 1997	2 April 2014
N13	Kawasaki HI	5 September 1997
N21	-	14 April 1995	6 January 2015	Pre-series set S7, later J1

E2' series 10-car "J" sets

8-car J set in original livery on an Asama service, February 1998

10-car J set in revised livery, September 2008

The initial fleet of six "J" sets was constructed as 8-car trains for the start of the new Akita shinkansen services starting in March 1997, and ran in conjunction with E3 series Akita Shinkansen units on Tōhoku Shinkansen Yamabiko/Komachi services between Tokyo and Morioka. These sets are classified E2', and are equipped with retractable nose-end couplers at the Morioka end. Units J2 onwards were delivered from December 1996 to March 1997.

As with the Nagano Shinkansen N units, these sets are also compatible with both 50 Hz and 60 Hz (25 kV) power supplies, and were also used on Nagano Shinkansen Asama services before they were lengthened to 10 cars. A further four J sets were delivered in October/November 1998 to augment the fleet to coincide with the introduction E2 series stock on four return Asahi services between Tokyo and Niigata on the Jōetsu Shinkansen from the start of the revised timetable in December 1998. From September 2002, the fleet of J sets (except J1) was augmented from 8 to 10 cars with the addition of newly built intermediate cars for use on Hayate services to Hachinohe commencing in December 2002. The red stripe on these lengthened sets was also changed to magenta, and the original "wind" bodyside logo was changed to the new Hayate logo.

View showing new-build car 7 (E225-100) next to original car 6 (E226-300), July 2008

Pantograph installation on E2 series J set, July 2008

Formation

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Designation	T1c	M2	M1	M2	M1k	M2	M1	M2	M1s	T2c
Numbering	E223	E226-100	E225	E226-200	E225-400	E226-300	E225-100	E226-400	E215	E224-100
Seating capacity	55	100	85	100	75	100	85	100	51	64

Cars 4 and 6 are equipped with PS205 scissors-type pantographs.

Fleet list

Set number	Manufacturer	Date delivered	Date lengthened to 10 cars	Date withdrawn
J1	-	14 April 1995	(Pre-series set S7, renumbered N21 from October 2002)	-
J2	Hitachi	20 December 1996	19 December 2002	2 October 2013
J3	Hitachi	24 January 1997	24 December 2002	30 October 2013
J4	Kawasaki HI	12 February 1997	19 September 2002
J5	Nippon Sharyo	3 March 1997	29 October 2002	12 June 2014
J6	Nippon Sharyo	17 March 1997	3 November 2002	2 May 2014
J7	Nippon Sharyo	5 October 1998	16 November 2002
J8	Hitachi	20 October 1998	24 September 2002
J9	Nippon Sharyo	23 November 1998	14 September 2002
J10	Kawasaki HI	17 December 1998	14 October 2002
J11	Nippon Sharyo	6 September 1999	21 November 2002
J12	Tokyu Car	17 September 1999	29 September 2002
J13	Hitachi	5 October 1999	4 October 2002
J14	Kawasaki HI	19 October 1999	19 October 2002
J15	Tokyu Car	5 November 1999	24 October 2002

E2-1000 series 10-car "J" sets

E2-1000 series on Hayate service at Iwate-Numakunai Station, March 2007

The prototype E2-1000 series train (unit J51) was delivered as an 8-car to Sendai depot in late December 2000, and entered revenue-earning service in November 2001 after extensive testing. Units J52 onwards were delivered as 10-car units from July 2002, entering service on the Tohoku Shinkansen from December 2002. These trains replaced life-expired 200 series trains and augment JR East's fleet for use on new Hayate services following the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen extension to Hachinohe in December 2002.

The E2-1000 series incorporates a number of design improvements compared with the earlier batches, the most noticeable of which is the change from small windows for each seating bay to wide windows similar to the E4 series trains. A new single-arm pantograph design is used with an aerofoil-shaped mounting that eliminates the need for pantograph shrouds. The pre-series set, J51, was equipped with automatic couplers at both ends, but sets J52 onwards have couplers at the northern end only, as on the earlier E2' trains. Unlike the earlier J sets, these units are only compatible with the 50 Hz power supply of the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen routes. The flush-fitting plug doors of the earlier N and J sets were replaced by conventional sliding doors on these units. While J51 was delivered in the same livery as earlier E2 series trains, units J52 onward were delivered from new in the Hayate livery with a magenta waistline stripe in place of the previous red and a new "apple" logo in place of the "wind" logo on the original batch of J and N units.

Formation

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Designation	T1c	M2	M1	M2	M1k	M2	M1	M2	M1s	T2c
Numbering	E223-1000	E226-1100	E225-1000	E226-1200	E225-1400	E226-1300	E225-1100	E226-1400	E215-1000	E224-1100
Seating capacity	54	100	85	100	75	100	85	100	51	64

Cars 4 and 6 are equipped with PS207 single-arm pantographs. Car 1 of set No. J51 is numbered E223-1101.

Fleet list

Set number	Manufacturer	Date delivered	Date withdrawn
J51	Hitachi/Kawasaki HI/Nippon Sharyo/Tokyu Car	13 January 2001
J52	Hitachi	17 July 2002
J53	Kawasaki HI	5 August 2002
J54	Kawasaki HI	8 March 2003
J55	Hitachi	7 November 2002
J56	Hitachi	23 November 2002
J57	Nippon Sharyo	4 October 2003
J58	Tokyu Car	11 September 2003
J59	Tokyu Car	21 October 2003
J60	Kawasaki HI	24 December 2003
J61	Nippon Sharyo	17 January 2004
J62	Kawasaki HI	2 February 2004
J63	Tokyu Car	8 December 2003
J64	Hitachi	11 June 2003
J65	Kawasaki HI	10 March 2004
J66	Nippon Sharyo	6 April 2005
J67	Hitachi	7 June 2005
J68	Hitachi	10 July 2005
J69	Kawasaki HI	5 December 2005
J70	Hitachi	19 February 2010
J71	Nippon Sharyo	11 March 2010
J72	Hitachi	12 April 2010
J73	Kawasaki HI	10 May 2010
J74	Kawasaki HI	7 June 2010
J75	Nippon Sharyo	27 September 2010

Pre-series units

The pre-series E2' series unit S7 (renumbered as J1 and later as N21) was delivered in April 1995, with S6 (now numbered as N1) delivered in June of the same year. Visually, these two units differed from subsequent production standard units in having large pantograph shields resembling the original 300 series design. These were later changed to the current low-profile design.

Interior

Seating is 2+3 in standard class with a seat pitch of 960 mm (38 in), and 2+2 in green class with a seat pitch of 1,160 mm (46 in).

Test-running

An E2-1000 series train (J56) broke the Japanese rail speed record for a production train (i.e. not a dedicated test train) in April 2003 when it reached a speed of 362 km/h (225 mph) during a series of late-night high-speed test runs between Urasa and Niigata on the Joetsu Shinkansen.

Exports

Main article: CRH2

China ordered a number of 250 km/h trains based on the E2-1000 series design, renamed it as CRH2, becoming the second Shinkansen train exported after the 700T for Taiwan. These CRH2 trains consist of a total of 60 sets; the first three sets (2001-2003) were built in Japan, the next six sets were delivered in complete knock down (CKD) form and assembled by CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock, the remaining 51 sets were built by Sifang through technology transfer from Japan. The first train arrived at the port of Qingdao on 8 March 2006.

Subsequent orders included 50 additional trains and a new order for 140 trains placed in 2009 with the Sino-Japanese joint venture.

See also

• List of high speed trains

External links

• E2 Series Hayate/Yamabiko/Nasuno/Asama (Japanese)