I recently visited the JR East Joban line for the first time in a year. What's new with this semi-trunk line in the eastern part of Japan?
Let me quickly review the Joban line to start. The 350-kilometer-long route penetrates the Pacific Ocean side of the Kanto and Tohoku districts. The whole route is electrified with two different systems. The section south of Toride has a 1,500V direct current (DC) system; meanwhile, the north of Fujishiro is electrified with a 50 hertz of 20,000V alternate current (AC) system. It's because the direct current has a negative impact on the observation at Kakioka Geomagnetic Observatory of the Japan Meteorological Agency, which is located near the track. There is a "dead section" (a section in which power supply is cut off) between Toride and Fujishiro stations.
Now let's head to the main topic. I found that the body color of set K15 of the EMU E657 series has been changed to a greenish color (official color name: green lake). The E657 series is the AC-DC train on the Joban line. It's operated as a limited express named Hitachi and Tokiwa. According to JR East, this color change is a part of the regional tourism campaign being held by JR East and Ibaraki Prefecture. The "new" color was taken from the "old" E653 series, which was retired from the Joban line in 2013. JR East plans to launch four more nostalgic E653 series-colored trains. Their colors will be scarlet blossom, blue ocean, orange persimmon and yellow jonquil. I'm looking forward to their debuts.
