The was a suburban

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

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) in the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

of Japan from 1994 to 2025.

Design

Introduced in 1994 to replace the

113 series The is a Japanese suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1963 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), currently operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and formerly also ...

EMUs running on the

Sōbu Line (Rapid) The Sōbu Line (Rapid) () is a railway service on the Sōbu Main Line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Tokyo Station in Chūō, Tokyo with Chiba Station in Chūō-ku, Chiba via ...

and

Yokosuka Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The Yokosuka Line connects Tokyo Station with in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Officially, the name Yokosuka Line is assigned to the segment between and Kurihama sta ...

, the E217 series was the first outer-suburban train type in Japan to feature four pairs of doors per side per car. The basic design was developed from the

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 ...

commuter EMUs. It replaced all the Yokosuka Line 113 series trains by 1999. The trains were built jointly by

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...

Tokyu Car is a manufacturer of heavy rail cars in Japan, formerly known as . The company is based in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, and a member of East Japan Railway Company (JR East) group. J-TREC manufactures rail vehicles not only for JR East and Tokyu Corpo ...

, and JR East (Niitsu and Ofuna factories). For traction, they used

Mitsubishi Electric is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1921 as a spin-off from the electrical machinery manufacturing d ...

-manufactured VVVF inverters with

IGBT An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily forming an electronic switch. It was developed to combine high efficiency with fast switching. It consists of four alternating layers (NPNP) that ...

(formerly GTO) switching devices which control Mitsubishi MT68/73 traction motors. The gear ratio was 97:16.

Former operations

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 ...

( Sawara – Kashima-Jingū) *

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 ...

( Chiba –

Narita Airport , also known as Tokyo-Narita International Airport or simply Narita Airport, formerly and originally known as , is the secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the only other one being Haneda Airport (HND). It is about e ...

, Sawara) *

Sōbu Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It connects Tokyo with the east coast of Chiba Prefecture, passing through the cities of Funabashi, Chiba, and Chōshi. Its name derives from the ...

(

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

– Narutō) *

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 ...

( Chiba – Kazusa-Ichinomiya) *

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 ...

( Chiba –

Kimitsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 83,058 in 39,138 households and a population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview The area along Tokyo ...

) *

(

– Kurihama) *

Shōnan–Shinjuku Line The Shōnan–Shinjuku Line () is a passenger railway service in Japan which commenced in December 2001. The line has no dedicated track as services run through shared sections along the Ryōmō Line, Takasaki Line, Utsunomiya Line, Yamanote ...

(

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

–

Zushi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of June 2012, the city has an estimated population of 58,087, and a population density of 3,350 per km². The total area is . Geography Zushi is located at the head of Miura Peninsula, facin ...

) (December 2001 – October 2004) *

Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...

(

–

Atami is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households

) (March 2006 – March 2015) * '' Airport Narita'' (name discontinued March 2018)

Formations

Yokosuka/Sōbu Line formations

11-car Yokosuka/Sōbu Line sets

The 11-car sets were based at Kamakura Depot and formed with four motored ("M") cars and seven non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Cars 3 and 9 each had one scissors pantograph. * Cars 1 and 11 had an accessible/priority "free space". * Cars 1, 5, and 11 each had a toilet (

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 ...

in car 1, Japanese-style in car 11). * Car 8 was designated as a mildly air-conditioned car. * Cars 4 and 5 were bilevel Green Cars with transverse seating. * Cars 9, 10, and 11 had a mix of longitudinal and transverse box seating.

4-car Yokosuka/Sōbu Line sets

The four-car sets were based at Kamakura Depot and formed with two motored ("M") cars and two non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Car +3 had a scissors pantograph. * Cars +1 and +4 had an accessible/priority "free space". * Car +1 had a Japanese-style toilet.

Tōkaidō Line formations

10-car Tōkaidō Line sets

Three 10-car sets (F-01–F-03) were based at Kōzu Depot and formed with four motored ("M") cars and six non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Cars 3 and 9 each had one scissors pantograph. * Cars 1 and 10 had an accessible/priority "free space". * Cars 1, 5, and 10 each had a toilet (

in car 1, Japanese-style in car 10). * Car 8 was designated as a mildly air-conditioned car. * Cars 4 and 5 were bilevel Green Cars with transverse seating. * Cars 9 and 10 had a mix of longitudinal and transverse box seating.

5-car Tōkaidō Line sets

Three five-car sets (F-51–F-53) were based at Kōzu Depot and formed with two motored ("M") cars and three non-powered trailer ("T") cars. * Car 13 had a scissors pantograph. * Cars 11 and 15 had an accessible/priority "free space". * Car 11 had a Japanese-style toilet. * Car 14 had a mix of longitudinal and transverse box seating. File:Jre E217F.jpg, E217 series in ''Shōnan'' livery, April 2007

Interior

File:E217-inside-longseat.jpg, E217 series longitudinal seating File:E217-inside-semicross-seat.jpg, E217 series transverse seating File:Series-E217 Green-car-2F.jpg, Green car upper saloon, October 2021 File:Series-E217 Green-car-1F.jpg, Green car lower saloon, October 2021

History

The E217 series trains entered revenue service from 3 December 1994. From December 2001, 11-car trains were used on the

between

and

. This continued until October 2004 when Shōnan–Shinjuku Line services were unified using

E231-1000 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type used for commuter and outer-suburban services operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 2000. Design Trains were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy In ...

trains. In March 2006, three 15-car trains were reformed as 10+5-car sets and transferred to Kōzu depot for use from 14 March 2006 on

duties out of Tokyo alongside E231-1000 series trains. The sets were repainted into the same ''Shonan'' color scheme of orange and green bodyside stripes as applied to the E231s. These sets were all transferred back to Yokosuka/Sōbu Line services by March 2015. A program of refurbishment on the fleet commenced in 2008 and was completed in 2012. Externally, sets received lighter blue and cream stripes. Following the introduction of newer E235-1000 series sets, withdrawals commenced in fiscal 2020. The first withdrawn set was transferred to Nagano in January 2021. The last remaining sets were withdrawn from service after their final runs on 8 March 2025 before the start of the revised timetable on 15 March of that year.

Rejected export to Indonesia

In September 2022, Indonesian state railway operator

Kereta Api Indonesia PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (, abbreviated as PT KAI or simply KAI) is a major railway operator in Indonesia and one of the Public transportation, public railway companies in the country. It is State-owned enterprise, state-owned and pa ...

(KAI) filed for permission to import 348 used E217 series cars between 2023 and 2024 to replace older trainsets in its subsidiary commuter network

KAI Commuter PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (trading as KAI Commuter, abbreviated as KCI or KAIC) is a subsidiary of the Indonesian national railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) which manages commuter rail services. Initially founded as an operator of ...

. This request was rejected by the Indonesian Ministry of Industry in January 2023, resulting in domestic controversy. Following meetings with government ministries, KAI later announced in June 2023 that they would buy new trainsets from Japan and Indonesia instead of used E217 series sets.

References

External links

JR E217 series
{{JR East EMU Electric multiple units of Japan East Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 1994 Kawasaki multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan Tokyu Car multiple units