The is a DC

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

(EMU) train type operated by the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East). It began operations in the Chiba area on 13 March 2021, on the

Sagami Line The is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It approximately parallels the east bank of the Sagami River. The line connects Hashimoto Station (Kanagawa), Hashimoto Station in Sagami ...

on 18 November 2021, and on the Nikkō Line and the

Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line () is the name given to a section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. Services Serv ...

on 12 March 2022. The trains are equipped for

driver-only operation One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to driver-controlled operation, is operation of a train, bus, ...

().

Design

The E131 series trains have stainless steel bodies. They have LCD passenger information displays above the doors, as well as wheelchair-accessible and stroller-accessible "free spaces" on all cars. As they are equipped for " wanman" driver-only operation, body-mounted cameras are utilized to monitor passengers boarding and alighting the train; these cameras are then fed to displays located in the driver's cab. They also feature semi-automatic doors, allowing passengers to operate the doors during driver-only operation. Internally, the trains are equipped with security cameras and emergency call switches. Some trains in each subseries are numbered -X80, as they have a slightly different equipment configuration due to the presence of track monitoring equipment. File:E131-0 LED.gif, LED destination board, displaying information in both Japanese and English (E131-0 series) File:Series-E131-0 Outside Camera.jpg, External security cameras (E131-0 series) File:JRE E131-600interior door.jpg, Internal passenger door buttons (E131-600 series) File:Series-E131-500 Inside Driving-seat.jpg, Driver's cab (E131-500 series)

Variants

* E131-0/-80 series: 2-car sets used on the

Kashima Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Katori Station with Kashima Soccer Stadium Station by crossing and then following the Tone River, at the border between Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefectur ...

Narita Line The Narita Line () is the name for a combination of three railway lines located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The main line connects Sakura Station (Chiba), Sakura Station and Matsugishi Stati ...

Sotobō Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, on the eastern (i.e., outer) side of the Bōsō Peninsula. It connects Chiba Station in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Sta ...

, and

Uchibō Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) adjacent to Tokyo Bay, paralleling the western (i.e., inner) shore of the Bōsō Peninsula. It connects Soga Station in the city of Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Station in t ...

* E131-500/-580 series: 4-car sets used on the

(previously also used on

Yokohama Line The Yokohama Line () is a Japanese railway line of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) connecting Higashi-Kanagawa Station in Yokohama, Kanagawa and Hachiōji Station in Hachiōji, Tokyo. The line forms part of what JR East refers to as t ...

through services) * E131-600/-680 series: 3-car sets used on the Nikkō Line and

* E131-800 series: 4-car sets to be used on the

Senseki Line The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aoba-dōri Station in Sendai to Ishinomaki Station in Ishinomaki, and provides access to the central coast areas of ...

* E131-1000 series: 3-car sets used on the

Tsurumi Line The Tsurumi Line () is a group of 3 railway lines operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Originally built to service the port and adjacent industrial area, the lines provide passenger services (especia ...

History

The series and its scheduled introduction into the

( Kazusa-Ichinomiya Station -

Awa-Kamogawa Station is a junction passenger railway station in the city of Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Awa-Kamogawa Station is served by the Sotobō Line and Uchibō Line, and forms the terminatin ...

( Kisarazu Station -

), and

( Sawara Station - Kashimajingū Station) was announced on 5 May 2020. It was the first all-new series introduced in the region in 51 years since the 113 series in the late 1960s; the previous

211 series The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1985 by the Japanese National Railways (JNR). The trains are still being used by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). They were formerly used by the West Japan Railwa ...

and

209 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1993. The series was introduced in 1992 for experimental operations (as the 901 series) and in 1993 fo ...

were transferred from other lines. On 18 December 2020, it was further announced that the series would operate certain services in the

(between Narita Station and Katori Station) and

(between Katori Station and Sawara Station). On 17 June 2021, JR East announced that a new subseries will be introduced on the

(

Chigasaki Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Chigasaki Station is served by the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Shōnan-Shinj ...

- Hashimoto Station) in fall 2021, and another subseries will be introduced into the Nikkō Line (

Utsunomiya Station is a railway station in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station also is a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight). Utsunomiya Station#Utsuno ...

- Nikkō Station) and the

( Oyama Station - Kuroiso Station) in Spring 2022. On 24 December 2024, JR East announced another subseries that will run on the

in the Sendai area.

E131-0/-80 series

A total of 12 two-car sets were ordered and built. Test runs began in July 2020, starting with the first two delivered sets R01 and R02. The first ten sets (R01–R10) entered passenger service on 13 March 2021. The trains are painted in the Uchibo/Sotobo Line color scheme and formed as two-car sets with four doors per car.

Lines served

The series serves the following sections of lines: *

: Kazusa-Ichinomiya Station -

: Kisarazu Station -

: Katori Station - Kashimajingū Station *

: Narita Station - Katori Station

Formations

, 12 two-car sets (R01–R12) are based at Makuhari Rolling Stock Centre in

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

and formed with 1 motored ("M") car and 1 trailer ("T") car. * The KuMoHa E131 car has a single-arm pantograph. * Both cars have an accessible/priority "free space". * The KuHa E130 car has a

universal design Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability, or other factors. It emerged as a rights-based, anti-discrimination measure, which seeks to create design ...

toilet.

Interior

Passenger accommodation consists of a combination of longitudinal and transverse seating. Priority seating and wheelchair- and stroller-accessible "free spaces" are provided in each car. KuHa E130 features a universal design toilet. File:Series-E131-0 Inside Display.jpg, Passenger information display File:Series-E131-0 Inside.jpg, Interior view. Transverse seating bays can be seen at the end. File:Series-E131 Cross-seat.jpg, Mixed longitudinal and transverse seating File:Series-E131-0 Long-seat.jpg, Longitudinal seating File:Series-E131-0 Inside Priority-seat.jpg, Priority seating with wheelchair/stroller space File:20210320 JR East E131 inside Surveillance camera.jpg, Onboard security cameras File:Series-E131-0 Toilet-Outside.jpg, Onboard universal design toilet

Fleet details

The table below shows the details of each set. *Sets R11 and R12 are fitted with track monitoring equipment.

E131-500/-580 series

A total of 12 four-car trains were built for the

; the first set (G-01) entered service on 18 November 2021. It replaced the existing 205-500 series trains that have been in service since 1991. These trains were also used on through services between the Sagami Line and

during the morning and evening rush; these services ended on 11 March 2022.

Lines served

The series serves the following sections of lines: *

- Hashimoto Station *

: Hashimoto Station -

Hachiōji Station is a major junction passenger railway station located in the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It opened on 11 August 1889.JR EasHachiōji Station informationRetrieved on 21 August 2008. Line ...

(until 11 March 2022)

Formations

, twelve four-car sets (G-01–G-12) are based at Kōzu Depot in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

and formed with 2 motored ("M") cars and 2 trailer ("T") cars. Sets G-11 and G-12 are fitted with track monitoring equipment. * Cars 2 and 4 each have a single-arm pantograph. * All cars have an accessible/priority "free space". * Car 3 is designated as a mildly air-conditioned car.

Interior

Passenger accommodation consists of longitudinal seating throughout. Priority seating and wheelchair- and stroller-accessible "free spaces" are provided in each car. File:Series-E131-500 Inside.jpg, Interior view File:Series-E131-500 Inside Priority-seat.jpg, Priority seating File:Series-E131-500 Inside Free-space.jpg, Priority seating with free space File:Series-E131-500 Inside LCD.jpg, LCD passenger information display

E131-600/-680 series

A total of 15 three-car trains were built for the Nikkō Line and

. The first fourteen sets (TN1–TN14) entered service on 12 March 2022. It replaced the existing 205-600 series trains that have been in service since 2013.

Lines served

The series serves the following sections of lines: * Nikkō Line:

- Nikkō Station *

: Oyama Station - Kuroiso Station

Formations

, 15 three-car sets (TN1–TN15) are based at Oyama Depot in

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

and formed with 2 motored ("M") cars and 1 trailer ("T") car (the MoHa E131 car has one motorized bogie and one trailer bogie). Sets TN14 and TN15 are fitted with track monitoring equipment. * The KuMoHa E131 car has two single-arm pantographs, while the MoHa E131 car has one. * All cars have an accessible/priority "free space". * The KuHa E130 car has a

toilet.

E131-800 series

14 four-car sets are to be built for use on the

to replace the existing 205-3100 series trains currently operated on that line. Classified as the E131-800 series, the first of these sets are scheduled to enter service in December 2025. The first set, N1, was delivered on 11 April 2025.

E131-1000 series

JR East announced in July 2023 that it would introduce eight 3-car E131-1000 series sets on the

to replace the aging

205 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type introduced in 1985 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and inherited by JR East and JR West after JNR was privatised two years later. It is currently operated by East Japan Railway ...

fleet. Unlike other E131 series variants, these sets use straight-sided bodywork with a width of , as opposed to with previous sets. They entered service on 24 December 2023. The first two sets, T1 and T2, were built at J-TREC's Niitsu plant and commissioned from October 2023. The last set, T8, was commissioned in December 2023. This set uniquely features track monitoring equipment.

References

{{JR East EMU Electric multiple units of Japan East Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 2021 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan J-TREC multiple units