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JR East E259 Series / JR東日本E259系

The E259 Series (E259系) is an EMU of JR East operating Limited Express services in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

Developed to replace the 253 series on Narita Express services, The E259 series was envisioned to inherit and further improve the existing brand image of the service. With the expanding role of Narita Airport in the early 2000s, ridership of airport access services steadily increased. Competition intensified after the Keisei Narita Access Line was opened in 2010, and the new Skyliner services with a top speed of 160km/h had the potential to attract a large number of passengers away from JR. Therefore the decision was made to introduce a new type for Narita Express. The E259 series' passenger cabin was designed for a high quality and comfortable journey, which allows foreign travellers to start experiencing Japan and it's culture, as there is a high likelihood the service would be the first train passengers take after arriving into the country. JR East's policy of adding duplicate electrical and safety equipment is also carried over to this type, with the added redundancy improving the reliability of the units as most occurrences of equipment failures will not disrupt operations. 132 cars were manufactured in total, in 22 6-car formations. 2 sets are coupled together between Narita Airport and Tokyo Station, where they are split and head for Shinjuku Station and Ōfuna respectively. Between 2012 and 2020 some cars were also used on the seasonal train Marine Express Odoriko to the Izu peninsular, these were replaced by the new luxury train Saphir Odoriko. Since the timetable revision on March 16th 2024, E259 series consists will also operate Limited Express Shiosai between Tokyo and Choshi in Chiba Prefecture. As a part of this process, the iconic 'NEX' logo was removed and replaced with the non-descript 'E259'.

Basic Information:

Max Speed: 130km/h
Acceleration: 0.56m/s/s
Motor Output: 140kW x 4 per car
In Service: 2009-

The following formations are included:

E259 Series (6 Car)

Configuration: 4M2T
Max Pax: 290
-can be coupled up to 3 sets