E4 Series Shinkansen


The E4 series was a Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by the East Japan Railway Company in Japan from December 1997 until October 2021. It was the second double-deck Shinkansen train type, after the E1 series, and was marketed under the name Max. A total of 26 eight-car trainsets were built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 1997 and 2003. The type was withdrawn from regular service on 1 October 2021.
Like the E1 series, the E4 series was introduced to relieve overcrowding on services on the Tōhoku and Jōetsu Shinkansen, and it also saw occasional use on the Nagano Shinkansen. The double-deck design was adopted to increase seating capacity for peak periods, with some cars using 3+3 seating. Although each trainset comprised only eight cars, two sets could be coupled together to provide 16-car formations with 1,634 seats, the highest-capacity high-speed train configuration in the world.
Unlike the steel carbodies of the E1 series, the E4 series used lightweight aluminium construction. However, the trainsets remained significantly heavier than single-deck designs, limiting the maximum operating speed to. Double-deck Shinkansen trainsets subsequently fell out of use as lighter single-deck designs supported higher operating speeds—up to on newer types—shortening travel times and allowing increased service frequency.

Operations

E4 series sets were used on the following services.
Cars 4 and 6 were each equipped with a PS201 pantograph.

Interior

As with the earlier E1 series, the upper decks of non-reserved cars 1 to 3 were arranged 3+3, with fixed seats that did not recline and no individual armrests. The lower decks of these cars, and the reserved-seat areas in cars 4 to 8, had conventional 2+3 seating. The Green car areas on the upper decks of cars 7 and 8 had 2+2 seating. In total, the trains accommodated 817 passengers.

History

The first E4 series set, P1, was delivered to Sendai Depot on 8 October 1997, with the first sets entering revenue-earning service on the Tohoku Shinkansen from 20 December 1997.
All cars were made no-smoking from the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2007.
In March 2011, it was announced that the entire E4 series fleet would be withdrawn by around 2016.
In September 2012, E4 series were entirely withdrawn from Tohoku Shinkansen services, and all allocated for use on Joetsu Shinkansen services only. The trains were withdrawn from regular service on 1 October 2021, and were completely retired on 17 October of the same year.
From 2014, the fleet of 24 sets still in service began to be repainted, receiving a new livery identical to that of the E1 series trains, with a toki pink stripe separating the white on the upper body and blue on the lower body. The first reliveried set, P5, was returned to service in early April 2014, with the entire fleet be treated by the end of fiscal 2015.

Fleet list

A total of 26 eight-car trainsets were built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 1997 and 2003.
Sets P51 and P52 were designed for operation on the steep gradients of the Nagano Shinkansen for services to Karuizawa Station. Sets P81 and P82 were also designed for the Nagano Shinkansen and were equipped to operate under both 50 Hz and 60 Hz overhead power supplies for services to Nagano Station.
Withdrawals began in July 2013 with sets P2 and P3. A ceremonial "last-run" service ran on 1 October 2021, with the final set formally withdrawn on 30 March 2022.
End car E444-1 from set P1 is displayed at the Niigata City Niitsu Railway Museum in Niitsu, Niigata. It was transported by road from Niigata Depot to the museum in the early hours of 20 June 2017.
Build details are as shown below:
SetManufacturerDeliveredRepaintedWithdrawn
P1Kawasaki8 October 199712 May 20152 April 2016
P2Hitachi20 October 19973 July 2013
P3Kawasaki27 October 199726 July 2013
P4Hitachi10 February 199910 February 201615 September 2017
P5Kawasaki22 February 19993 April 20145 December 2017
P6Hitachi15 March 199911 June 201413 January 2018
P7Hitachi14 April 199925 March 201529 May 2019
P8Kawasaki31 May 19993 July 201520 June 2019
P9Hitachi21 June 199920 August 201512 July 2019
P10Kawasaki12 July 19994 February 20157 May 2019
P11Hitachi26 July 20003 March 201628 October 2021
P12Hitachi28 August 200013 April 201624 November 2021
P13Kawasaki11 September 200010 May 201620 December 2021
P14Hitachi13 October 20001 June 201618 January 2022
P15Kawasaki16 October 200017 October 201617 December 2019
P16Hitachi27 November 20001 May 201424 August 2020
P17Hitachi21 March 200130 September 201414 February 2022
P18Kawasaki4 June 200130 April 201522 February 2021
P19Kawasaki25 June 200120 August 201518 March 2021
P20Hitachi16 July 20019 October 201526 April 2021
P21Kawasaki9 October 20014 November 201527 May 2021
P22Kawasaki20 November 200118 December 201521 June 2021
P51Kawasaki31 January 20017 July 201425 November 2020
P52Kawasaki20 February 200127 August 20145 October 2021
P81Hitachi30 July 200322 July 20157 May 2021
P82Kawasaki20 November 200319 January 201630 March 2022