#4727
651 series
🇯🇵 Japan ·built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries· from 1989· Japanese electric multiple unit train type
3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. JReast651-1000suwaro-akagi: Tokyodesert· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Series651-0: MaedaAkihiko· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. JR East 651 series Super Hitachi at Haranomachi station in Oct 2012: Bachstelze· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The 651 series (651系) was an AC/DC dual-voltage electric multiple unit (EMU) type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan between March 1989 and October 2023. Trains originally operated as 7+4-car formations on Super Hitachi limited express services between Ueno in Tokyo and Sendai via the Jōban Line, but were withdrawn from regular scheduled services from the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013. The majority of the fleet was subsequently modified to become the 651-1000 series, and re-employed on Akagi and Kusatsu limited express services from March 2014.
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 37 years ago, in 1989.
- 21.5 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 34 years (1989–2023).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1989
- in service from
- 1989
- retired
- 2023
- status
- retired
- number built
- 99
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- operators
- East Japan Railway Company
- top speed
- 130 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 1,500 V DC / 20 kV AC (50 Hz) overhead catenary
- formation
- 4/7 cars per trainset
- length
- 21.5 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4642082, Wikipedia: 651 series (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.