Alternating current: Electric multiple units and motor coaches .

Class 701

Class 701-5000

Class 711

Class 713

Class 717

Class 719

Class 719-5000

Class E721

Class 721 (JR Hokkaidô)

Class 731

Class 733

Class 735

Class 751

Class 783

Class 783 (intermediate)

Class 785

Class 787  

Class 787  (JR Kyûshû)

Alternating current (20kV /60Hz) trains for speeds up to 130 km/h. Designed in an unique light and dark grey livery. 140 carriages built 1992-2002 and widely used on intercity express services in all areas of Kyûshû, at first primarily on the through north-south connection over the Kagoshima Honsen down to Kagoshima. After the opening of the Kyûshû Shinkansen southern section (2004 Kagoshima to Shin Yatsushiro ) class 787 was displaced from southern Kyûshû and – apart several other services – became the "Relay Tsubame" (northern Kyûshû - Shin Yatsushiro). Today class 787 work to Nagasaki and Sasebo in the west, Kokura and Moji-kô in the northeast, from Fukuoka into the Ômuta and Kumamoto area, and since 2011 they are also employed in the south from Kagoshima up the Nippô Honsen to Miyazaki, Ôita and Nakatsu.

Originally class 787 were 7- or 9-car sets, but over the years they have been extensively rearranged. The buffet cars were transformed into ordinary coaches in 2003. 6-car and 4-car sets were formed; "Relay Tsubame" trains consisted partly of two 4-car sets. At present there are 12 7-car sets and 2 6-car sets in northern and northwestern Kyûshû, and 11 4-car sets in southern and southeastern Kyûshû. They carry the handsome emblem "Around the Kyûshû" (plural because "Kyûshû" means "the Nine Provinces"). The 7-car sets are composed of KUMOHA 786 – MOHA 787 – SAHA 787 – SAHA 787 – SAHA 787 – MOHA 786 – KUMORO 787; the 6-car sets are KUMORO 787 – MOHA 786 – SAHA 787 – SAHA 787 – MOHA 787 – KUMOHA 786; the 4-car sets are KUROHA 786 – MOHA 787 – MOHA 786 – KUHA 787. Trains are occasionally rearranged, so their composition may differ.

Pictures

1  One of the 6-car sets in northern Kyûshû (front car KUMOHA 786-2) at Moji-kô terminal. (2015)
2  Inside coach MOHA 786-307 on a "Relay Tsubame" service. (2010)
3  A "Relay Tsubame" express (headed by KUMORO 787-11) north of Kurume alongside the Kyûshû Shinkansen, which was not yet in operation at the time. (2010)
4  A 4-car set on the Nippô Honsen in the southeast headed by KUHA 787-2 at Kitagawa in the hills north of Nobeoka. (2013)
5  On the Sasebo-sen a train headed by KUMOHA 786-14 enters Mimasaka. (2013)
6  On the Nagasaki Honsen at Hizen Kashima a class 787 express from Nagasaki (with rear coach KUMORO 787-1) crosses a class 885 express. (2013)
7  Coach MOHA 786-202 at Saga. The emblem reads "Kyushu Railway Company - Kyushu Limited Express - Around the Kyushu". (2013)
8  End coach KUMORO 787-1 "Green Car" at Saga. (2013)
9  A 4-car train headed by KUROHA 786-1 off the Nippô Honsen at Miyazaki Airport in southeastern Kyûshû. (2013)

Class 789

Class 789-1000

Class 811

Class 813

Class 813-1000

Class 815  

Class 815  (JR Kyûshû)

26 two-car sets built in 1999 for the electrification of the suburban section of the Hôhi Honsen west of Kumamoto. Alternating current, 20 kV/60 Hz. The sets consist of the motor coach KUMOHA 815 + non-motorized coach KUHA 814. Today these units operate local stopping trains in the Kumamoto region on the west coast (units 1 to 14 and 27) and the Ôita region on the east coast (units 16 to 26).

Pictures:

1. Class 815, set no.17 bound for Saiki in Shitanoe between Ôita and Saiki on the Nippô Honsen. (2013)
2. Class 815, no. 16 bound for Usuki between Ôita and Saiki on the east coast Nippô Honsen near Beppu. (2016)
3. Inside set 815-21 (KUMOHA 815-21 and KUHA 814-21). (2013)
4. Ôita station with class 815-16 bound for Kôzaki further south. (2016)
5. Class 815, no. 4 on the west coast line Kagoshima Honsen near Arisa just north of Yatsushiro. (2016)
6. Higo Ôzu, the end of the electrified suburban section from Kumamoto. Class 815, no. 11 has arrived from Kumamoto. The diesel set on the left will continue over den Hôhi Honsen up into the highlands. (2013)

Class 817

Class 817-2000

Class 883 

Class 883  (JR Kyûshû)

In 1995 upgrading of services on the northern section of the Nippô Honsen (Kokura – Ôita) was a pressing requirement in the face of increasing highway traffic and railway express trains with unattractive interior design and insufficient running speed. Thus 8 new 20 kV/60 Hz alternating current trains of class 883 were built 1994-1997. They are of a unique, playful design and have stainless steel coach bodies. Tilting allows speeds of up to 130 km/h. Sets 1 to 5 are 7-car trains (KUROHA 882 – SAHA 883 – MOHA 883 – SAHA 883 – MOHA 883 – SAHA 883 – KUMOHA 883). Sets 6 to 8 were originally 5-car trains; each set received two additional coaches in 2008, built with aluminum alloy coach bodies as class 883-1000 (KUROHA 882 – SAHA 883 – MOHA 883 – MOHA 883-1000 – SAHA 883-1000 – SAHA 883 – KUMOHA 883). Class 883 are based at Ôita and operate through intercity express trains from Fukuoka (Hakata station) via Kokura down to Ôita and Saiki.

Pictures:

  1. Class 883 no.5 at Nakatsu on the northern section of the east coast line. (2016)
  2. End coach of set no.5, KUROHA 882-5, at Nakatsu. (2016)
  3. Class 883 no.2 at Saiki, preparing for its journey up the Nippô Honsen to northern Kyûshû. (2013)
  4. Class 883 no.7 in an older style livery entering Beppu in 1999.
  5. Class 883 no.7 at Hakata station. The third and fourth coaches are class 883-1000 with a differing coach body. (2010)
  6. Class 883 no.2 leaving Yanagigawa station on its way through the mountains and to the coast of central Kyûshû. (2016)

Class 885 

Class 885  (JR Kyûshû)

Six-car tilting trains built for JR Kyûshû's AC electric lines (20 kV/60 Hz). Class 885 was conceived in cooperation with the German industrial designer Alexander Neumeister and shares characteristics with the ICE 3 of DB. 11 sets were built between 2000 and 2003, with three replacement coaches added in 2004 after a collision with rocks on the Nagasaki line. The sets are used both on the Nagasaki Honsen (from Hakata to Nagasaki) and the Nippô Honsen (from Hakata via Kokura to Ôita and Saiki). Six eight-car trains derived from class 885 were built for Taiwan in 2006/7. The trains are formed as follows: KUROHA 884 – MOHA 885 – SAHA 885 – SAHA 885 – MOHA 885 – KUMOHA 885.

Pictures:

  1. Class 885, no.11 in Kanda in the north of the Nippô Honsen. (2016)
  2. End coach KUROHA 884-7 in Kamegawa north of Beppu (Nippô Honsen). (2016)
  3. Class 885, no. 3 from Nagasaki entering Shin Tosu, the junction with the Kyûshû Shinkansen, (2016)
  4. Class 885, no. 5, car MOHA 885-105 in Yanagigawa south of Nakatsu on the Nippô Honsen. (2016)
  5. Class 885, no..9 in Nakatsu on the Nippô Honsen. (2016)
  6. Class 885, no. 9, inside coach SAHA 885-302. (2013)
  7. Class 885, no. 7 on the Nagasaki Honsen runs through Hizen Ryûô. (2013)
  8. Class 885, no. 8, coming from Nagasaki, at the crossing point between Tara and Hizen Ôura on the coast of the Ariake Sea. (2013)
  9. Class 885, no. 8 heading up the coast of the Ariake Sea between Hizen Ôura and Tara. (2013)