10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. JRE-EF6316-JRW-EC489-Hakusan: Cassiopeia sweet .· Public domain
- 2. EF63-1: Rsa· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. EF63-13 of JNR: Lover of Romance· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. Japanese-national-railways-EF63-2-20110907: LERK· CC BY 3.0
- 5. Japanese-national-railways-EF63-24-20140518: LERK· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. JNR-EL-EF63-1-8308063: wxrx· CC BY 3.0
- 7. EF63 2 usui: toshinori baba· Public domain
- 8. EF63 + EF62 + 12 yasuragi: Shellparakeet· CC0
- 9. EF63 + 185: Shellparakeet· CC0
- 10. JNR-EL-EF63-15-8308061: wxrx· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Class EF63 (EF63形) is a class of 1,500 V DC electric locomotives formerly operating in Japan.
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 64 years ago, in 1962.
- 2.6 MW is about 30 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 18.1 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 34 years (1963–1997).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1962–1976
- in service from
- 1963
- retired
- 1997
- status
- retired
- number built
- 25
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Kawasaki
- operators
- Japanese National Railways, East Japan Railway Company, Japan Freight Railway Company
- top speed
- 100 km/h
- power
- 2.6 MW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 1,500 V DC overhead lines
- wheel arrangement
- Bo-Bo-Bo
- length
- 18.1 m
- weight
- 108 t
- Dutch name
- JNR EF63
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q643533, Wikipedia: JNR Class EF63 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.