 |
| Set J-04 of the EMU JR East E235-1000 series nears Kamakura station |
The JR East Yokosuka-Sobu rapid line is a busy commuter route in the Tokyo metropolitan area. A 15-car train with an overall length of 300 meters runs every four minutes in the morning. On December 21st, 2020, JR East launched a new EMU model, E235-1000 series, on the line. Introduction of the new model was for the first time in 26 years.
Elder brother of the EMU 235-1000 series, namely the E235 series, was launched on the Yamanote line in 2015. Technical specifications of the E235-1000 series are almost the same as the E235 series, but acceleration of the E235-1000 series is suppressed to 1.85 km/h/s based on the existing E217 series on the Yokosuka-Sobu rapid line. For your information, acceleration of the E235 series on the Yamanote line is 3 km/h/s. The E235 series is an 11-car train; meanwhile the E235-1000 series is a 15-car train (an 11-car regular train with a 4-car additional train). The E235 series doesn't have Green Cars (the first class cars); meanwhile, the E235-1000 series has two Green Cars. The E235 series has light green colored front masks and vertical stripes on their side bodies. On the other hand, the E235-1000 series has blue colored front masks and blue and cream colored horizontal stripes on their side bodies.
In the fiscal year 2020, the first eight sets, 120 cars in total of the E235-1000 series, were introduced as the first step. Existing E217 series (745 cars) will be replaced by the new model within several years.
