Following the 100th anniversary, I'm going to show you another news on the JR East Sagami line. It's the debut of a new train model. On November 18th this year, JR East launched a new model named the EMU E131-500 series on the Sagami line. The introduction of the new model was for the first time in 30 years on the line. The E131-500 series is a "younger brother" of the E131 series, which was commissioned in the Chiba area in March this year.
What are the differences between the E131 series and the E131-500 series? The largest difference is the composition of one train. The "elder brother", namely the E131 series, is composed of 2 cars; while the "younger brother", the E131-500 series consists of 4 cars. The E131 series has yellow and light blue-colored stripes on their bodies; while the E131-500 series has dark blue and light blue-colored ones. The E131 series has both cross and long seats; while the E131-500 series has only long seats. I hope that the new model will be welcomed by the local people.
According to JR East, 12 sets, 48 cars in total, of the E131-500 series will be built by J-TREC, and commissioned on the Sagami line by March, 2022. It means that the all existing 205-500 series will be replaced and retired from the track by that time. The 205-500 series left the track with only four months of the operation remaining. The Sagami line is undergoing a rapid generational change.
