The is a

Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ B-B and Bo-Bo are the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and British classifications of wheel arrangement for railway locomotives with four axles in two individual bogies. They are equivalent to the B′B′ and Bo′Bo′ classifications ...

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 two-unit

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

type operated by

Japan Freight Railway Company , 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 ...

(JR Freight) in Japan hauling freight trains on the

Kaikyō Line The is an railway line operated mainly by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The line connected Naka-Oguni Station in Sotogahama, Aomori, through the Seikan Tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido, to Kikonai Station in Kikonai, Hokkai ...

through the Seikan Tunnel separating mainland

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

with the northern island of

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

. A prototype locomotive was delivered in January 2013 for evaluation and testing, with full-production locomotives delivered from June 2014, entering service from July 2014.

Background

In order to allow

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

services to operate through the dual-gauge Seikan Tunnel (which commenced on 26 March 2016), the overhead line system voltage was raised from the narrow gauge standard of 20 kV AC to the standard shinkansen power supply of 25 kV AC. A fleet of approximately 20 new dual-voltage locomotives capable of operating under either 20 kV or 25 kV was therefore required to replace the Class ED79 and Class EH500 locomotives previously used to haul freight and overnight sleeping car services through the tunnel. These locomotives are also compatible with the digital ATC and feature digital train wireless communications. The total cost of manufacturing the fleet of locomotives together with construction of new maintenance depot facilities was approximately 19 billion yen. This kind of electric locomotive is modelled on the EH500, which was also manufactured by Toshiba, and therefore has a similar appearance and structure.

Design

The Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ wheel arrangement locomotives are painted in an all-over red livery with a white bodyside line and silver wavy line.

Operations

The locomotives operate between Higashi-Aomori Freight Terminal and Goryōkaku Freight Terminal via the

and Seikan Tunnel. File:EH800-3 Cassiopeia 20160717 (cropped).jpg, EH800-3 hauling a ''

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 ...

'' cruise train in July 2016

History

Design of the prototype locomotive, EH800-901, began in fiscal 2010, and the completed locomotive was unveiled to the press at the

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

factory in

Fuchū, Tokyo file:FuchuCityHall2023091.jpg, 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in cent ...

, on 27 November 2012. It was delivered to JR Freight in Sendai in January 2013. Following delivery, the prototype locomotive was tested within the confines of Higashi-Fukushima Station before being moved to Goryōkaku Depot in Hokkaido for testing in winter conditions. The first full-production locomotive was delivered in June 2014. This entered revenue service on 16 July 2014. Major overhauls of this train are carried out by the Omiya Comprehensive Vehicle Centre, and traction duties in the DC line area are usually carried out by

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 ...

or Class EF65.

Fleet list

EH800-11 electric locomotive oshimatoubetsu station

EH800-19 EH500-32 Rikuzen-Sanno 20161221

, 20 Class EH800 locomotives are in service.

Classification

The EH800 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. As with previous locomotive designs, the prototype is numbered EH800-901, with subsequent production locomotives numbered from EH800-1 onward. * E: Electric locomotive * H: Eight driving axles * 800: AC locomotive with AC motors

References

External links

Toshiba press release
(27 November 2012) {{Toshiba Electric locomotives of Japan EH800 Railway locomotives introduced in 2013 Toshiba locomotives 20 kV AC locomotives 25 kV AC locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ locomotives Multi-system locomotives