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JR Hokkaido 731 Series / JR北海道731系

The 731 Series (731系) is an EMU operated by JR Hokkaido on suburban/commuter services in the Sapporo area.

Introduced in 1996 as JR Hokkaido's first dedicated commuter train, the 731 series was designed in response to the rapid urbanization of Greater Sapporo. The Hakodate, Sassho, and Chitose lines had been experiencing a 4% yearly increase in ridership, and the congestion rate was as high as 250% on some morning peak services. Existing rolling stock were cross seat vehicles designed to accommodate regional travel, and were unsuited for large numbers of commuters. Specifically, the 711 series inherited from JNR had poor acceleration performance and a lower operational speed compared to the later introduced 721 series, and their presence was an obstacle to increasing the frequency of service. The 731 series was fitted entirely with long seats to alleviate overcrowding, and has performance equivalent to the 721 series to allow for coupled operations. A total of 63 cars were produced in 21 3-car sets, replacing all remaining 711 series vehicles. The fleet operates on all lines within the Sapporo Metropolitan Area as 3 car or 6 car sets coupled with the 721, 733, 735, or a second 731 series set. A few services per day also sees joint operation with the KiHa 201 series DMUs, which continue onto the unelectrified portion of the Hakodate Line beyond Otaru after decoupling.

Basic Information:

Max Speed: 130km/h
Acceleration: 0.61m/s/s
Motor Output: 230kW x 4 per car
Seating: long
In Service: 1996-

The following formations are included:

731 Series (3 Car)

Configuration: 1M2T
Max Pax: 647
-can be coupled up to 2 sets