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JR East E721 Series / JR東日本E721系

The E721 Series (E721系) is an EMU operated by JR East in the Sendai Area.

Developed to update existing rolling stock in use by the Sendai branch, the E721 series is a general type commuter/regional train introduced in 2007. Two door JNR era types such as the 457 and 717 series were still commonly used in the region, as their technical condition deteriorated and the low number of doors caused inconvenience and delays, replacement became necessary. The E721 series was designed with with versatility in mind, intended to serve both commuter and intercity travellers. The passenger cabin features a low floor design and semi-cross seating, which made it more suitable for longer journeys then the all long seats layout of the 701 series. The type is composed of three variants, the 0 series is a 2 car set, while the 4-car variant is numbered the 1000 series. 8 cars as the 500 series were specifically built for the Sendai Airport Access Line, which has different safety equipment. In addition to JR, the E721 series have been ordered by a number of third sector railways in the region. 6 500 series cars are owned by Sendai Airport Railway, these operate interchangeably with the sets owned by JR on the airport access line. Aoimori Railway owns 4 cars as the Aoimori 703 series, and Abukuma Express owns 20 cars labelled the AB900 series, all composing of 2-car sets. In total, 172 cars were manufactured. 4 cars were damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and thus scrapped, the rest are in service.

Basic Information:

Max Speed: 120km/h
Acceleration: 0.61m/s/s
Motor Output: 125kW x 4 per car
Seating: semi-cross
In Service: 2007-

The following formations are included:

0 Series (2 Car)

Configuration: 1M1T
Max Pax: 394
-can be coupled up to 2 sets

1000 Series (4 Car)

Configuration: 2M2T
Max Pax: 834
-can be coupled up to 2 sets