#3388
181 series
🇯🇵 Japan ·built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries· from 1958· Japanese electric multiple unit train type
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 151 Fuji Yokohama: vvvf1025· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. 181 toki: Shellparakeet· CC0
what is it?
The 181 series (181系) (and the earlier 151 and 161 series variants) was a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR).
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 68 years ago, in 1958.
- Top speed is 1.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 15 minutes.
- 21.3 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 28 years (1958–1986).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1958
- in service from
- 1958
- retired
- 1986
- status
- retired
- number built
- —
- kind
- Electric multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kinki Sharyo, Toshiba, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing, Kisha Seizo
- operators
- Japanese National Railways
- top speed
- 163 km/h
- power
- 120 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 1,500 V DC
- length
- 21.3 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q11086317, Wikipedia: 181 series (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.