page_title: 455 series
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: 455 series / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A 12-car JNR 455 series EMU formation on a Matsushima express service north of Kurihashi 日本語: 利根川橋梁の手前を行く、455系×12両編成の急行「まつしま」＋α編成。上野～仙台を5時間で結んでいました。
context_page_description: The 455 series is a Japanese dual-voltage electric multiple unit train type introduced by Japanese National Railways on express services in 1965 and later operated by East Japan Railway Company, West Japan Railway Company, and Kyushu Railway Company.
  The last sets operated by JR-West were withdrawn in 2015. However, 2 cars remain in service as the driving car of a mixed 413/455 series set.
context_section_description: The 455 series trains were first introduced from the start of the 1 October 1965 revised timetable, operating on Iwate and Kitakami express services between Ueno in Tokyo and Morioka in the north-east of Japan, and also on Matsushima services between Ueno and Sendai.
  From 1 July 1967, 455 series trains were introduced on new Bandai express services operating on the Banetsu West Line. From 1 October 1968, with the completion of AC electrification of the route between Fukushima and Sendai via the Ou Main Line and Senzan Line, 455 series trains were introduced on Zaō services operating between Ueno and Yamagata.
  From the late 1960s, JNR was beginning to install air-conditioning on its trains, and 455 series cars built from June 1968 were designed to allow air-conditioning to be added easily at a later date. Air-conditioning was subsequently retrofitted between 1969 and 1975.
  With the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen, the number of express services in the region were cut back from the start of the 15 November 1982 timetable revision, and discontinued by March 1985. JR East 455 series sets were reassigned to local services, and withdrawn by 2008.
caption: A 455 series formation on a Matsushima express service
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