The is a

Bo-Bo-Bo A Bo-Bo-Bo or Bo′Bo′Bo′ (UIC classification) is a locomotive with three independent two-axle bogies with all axles powered by separate traction motors. In the AAR system, this is simplified to B-B-B due to the system only taking powered ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

multi-voltage AC/ DC electric locomotive type operated by

JR Freight , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

and

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 Japan since 2002. , the fleet consists of 40 locomotives (24 EF510-0s and 16 EF510-500s), all based at Toyama Depot.

Design

The design used many components common with the

Class EF210 The is a Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement Direct current, DC electric locomotive type operated by Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) on freight services in Japan. The locomotives are built at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Compan ...

, and was intended to replace ageing

Class EF81 The Class EF81 is a six-axle Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement multi-voltage AC/ DC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1968. , 44 locomotives remained in service, operated by JR Freight, JR East, and JR ...

locomotives on freight services operating along the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

coastal routes.

Variants

* EF510-0: Locomotives EF510-1 – built from 2001 for JR Freight * EF510-500: Locomotives EF510-501 – 515, built 2009–2010 originally for JR East *EF510-300: Locomotives EF510-301 onwards, built from 2021 for JR Freight The class is subdivided into the original EF510-0 sub-class operated by JR Freight and fifteen EF510-500 sub-class locomotives ordered and originally operated on passenger services by JR East. As of 1 October 2013, there were 23 EF510-0 locomotives and 15 EF510-500 locomotives in service.

Class EF510-0

The first locomotive, EF510-1, was delivered in February 2002 and initially based at Shin-Tsurumi Depot before being transferred to Toyama Depot in 2002. The first full-production locomotive, EF510-2, was delivered in November 2003, and this and subsequent locomotives delivered featured "Red Thunder" bodyside branding. File:JRF EF510-1 20220417.jpg, EF510-1 in April 2022, without "Red Thunder" branding File:JRF-EF510-15.jpg, EF510-15, February 2017

Class EF510-500

The EF510-500 subclass consists of 15 locomotives originally operated by

(JR East), which replaced its fleet of EF81 locomotives formerly used to haul ''

Cassiopeia Cassiopeia or Cassiopea may refer to: Greek mythology * Cassiopeia (mother of Andromeda), queen of Aethiopia and mother of Andromeda * Cassiopeia (wife of Phoenix), wife of Phoenix, king of Phoenicia * Cassiopeia, wife of Epaphus, king of Egy ...

'' and ''

Hokutosei The was a limited express sleeping car train service in Japan which operated between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Sapporo Station in the northern island of Hokkaido, taking approximately 16.5 hours. It was operated jointly by East Japan Railway C ...

'' overnight sleeping car trains from June 2010. These were the first locomotives to be ordered by any of the JR passenger operating companies since privatization. The new locomotives cost around 400 million yen each. The first locomotive, EF510-501, was delivered from the Kawasaki Heavy Industries factory in Hyogo Prefecture on 18 December 2009, arriving at Tabata Depot in Tokyo on 19 December. Livery was blue with gold lining and shooting star logo. Two of the fifteen locomotives (EF510-509 and EF510-510) were painted in a dedicated colour scheme of silver with blue, purple, red, orange, and yellow stripes, to match the ''Cassiopeia'' rolling stock. The first locomotive, EF510-501, entered service on 25 June 2010. From the start of the revised timetable in March 2013, Joban Line freight duties operated by JR East EF510-500 locomotives were operated instead by JR Freight Class EH500 locomotives, and locomotive numbers EF510-501 to 508 and 511 became surplus to requirements. These nine locomotives were subsequently sold to JR Freight in July 2013. Locomotives EF510-512, 513, and 515 were also transferred to JR Freight in December 2015.

Build details

The delivery dates and liveries for the Class EF510-500 fleet are as follows.

Class EF510-300

The EF510-300 subclass is operated by JR Freight in the Kyushu area of Japan, of which 17 locomotives are to be built. Originally intended to enter service in March 2023, they entered service on 25 February of that year. As part of its business plan for fiscal 2021, JR Freight announced on 31 March 2021 that they would procure Class EF510 locomotives to replace ageing locomotives, such as the

Class ED76 The is a Bo-2-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1965, originally by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), Kyushu Railway ...

and Class EF81, currently in use in Kyushu. On 15 October of the same year, it was revealed that the subclass would inherit the nickname , and the first production example of the subclass (EF510-301) was completed. EF510-301 was unveiled to the press on 9 December 2021.

Classification

The EF510 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. * E: Electric locomotive * F: Six driving axles * 510: AC/DC locomotive with AC motors

References

External links

Profile on Kawasaki Heavy Industries website
{{Jreastloco 1500 V DC locomotives 20 kV AC locomotives Electric locomotives of Japan EF510 EF510 Bo-Bo-Bo locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Kawasaki locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 2002 Multi-system locomotives