701 series

701 series
Z5 in August 2023
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	JR East's Tsuchizaki Works, Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Type of locomotive	Electric multiple unit
Constructed	1993 – 2001
Number built	274 cars
Dimensions	787 in (20,000 mm) × 110 in (2,800 mm) × 143 in (3,620 mm)
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) (most variants) 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) (701-5000/701-5500 series)
Power supply	Pantograph
Electric system(s)	20 kV AC (50 Hz)
Traction system	Variable frequency (PTR, IGBT)
Service information
In service	21 June 1993 – Present
Formation	2, 3 or 4 cars per set
Number in service	274 cars
Fleet numbers	N1 – N38, N101 – N102, N5001 – N5010, F2-18 – F2-28, F2-103 – F2-106, F2-501 – F2-518, F4-16 – F4-17, F4-29 – F4-30, Z1 – Z9, remainder unnumbered
Preservation information
Preserved	0
Number scrapped	0

The 701 series is a Japanese suburban electric multiple unit operated by the East Japan Railway Company since June 1993, mainly around the Morioka, Sendai and Akita regions.

History

The 701 series was constructed to replace the locomotive-hauled trains with 50 series passenger cars in tow in the north of Japan, in addition to replacing aging 715 series cars.

274 cars were produced, all by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and JR East's Tsuchizaki Works, with the first entering service on 21 June 1993. Some sets are also used by other railways; the Aoimori Railway has one 701-0 series set, one new-build 701-100 series set and seven more 701-1000 series sets converted from JR East sets for a total of nine sets, while the Iwate Galaxy Railway or IGR has seven 7000 sets, with four 7000-0 series sets converted from 701-1000 series sets from JR East and three new-build 7000-100 series sets.

Design

The 701 series is heavily based on the 209 series, so some design language such as the overall body shape carries over. The 701 series' has exposed top-mounted dual-beam headlights, à la E127-100 series cars. Each set has a different color scheme to indicate which area the sets serve.

Livery Variations

Operating area	Front end	Body side
Aomori/Morioka
Tazawako Line (Standard gauge)
Akita
Sendai
Yamagata (Standard gauge)

Specifications

Construction is of stainless steel. Each car is 20 meters long. The 701 series' traction system when originally manufactured was a power transistor-controlled variable frequency drive manufactured by Mitsubishi which produce a roaring sound when accelerating from idle somewhat similar to a car shifting gears; some sets were refurbished to use insulated gate bipolar transistor variable frequency drives also manufactured by Mitsubishi which have a distinctive hissing noise. Those sets were upgraded mainly due to the obsolescence of the use of power transistors in variable frequency drives.

A notable trait about the 701 series sets is that they come in two gauge variations; most variants of the 701 series, namely the 701-0, 701-100, 701-1000 and 701-1500 series, are meant for use on cape gauge (3 ft 6 in, 1,067 mm) lines, while the 701-5000 and 701-5500 series variants are meant for use on standard gauge (4 ft 8½ in, 1,435 mm) lines.

References

• Wikipedia.org