811 series

The 811 series, branded Commuter Train 811 and originally branded the New Rapid Train 811, is a Japanese commuter electric multiple unit operated by the Kyushu Railway Company since July 1989.
==History==
The 811 series was designed specifically as a new design of a Rapid train to replace the older 421 series sets used on JR Kyushu then. A total of 112 cars were built, with the first sets entering service on 21 July 1989 for use around the Kitakyushu/Fukuoka Region.
108 cars are in service and are all based at Minami-Fukuoka Depot. The sets are used on the Kagoshima, Nagasaki and Nippō Main Lines; the original seventeen sets are being progressively refurbished. The entire fleet of 27 sets is slated to be fully refurbished by 2028, delayed from an original target of 2024.
PM109 and PM105 were upgraded into two "Red Eye" sets, both featuring inspection equipment; they were renumbered PM7609 and PM8105 in the process. Both sets entered service on 1 April 2020.
==Design==
The 811 series adopted a modern design language for commuter trains on the JR Kyushu system. This design language was adopted for most of JR Kyushu's commuter trains.
The sets have unpainted stainless steel bodies with white and black accents, with a red New Rapid Train 811 logo splashed in front. Refurbished sets retain the unpainted stainless steel body with white and black accents, but have a blue Commuter Train 811 logo splashed in front as opposed to the older New Rapid Train 811 logo.
PM7609 and PM8105 feature a slightly altered livery with red Commuter Train 811 logos and Red Eye branding.
==Specifications==
Construction is of stainless steel. Cars are 20 meters long, 2.95 meters high and 3.67 meters high. The 811 series sets use a thyristor-based traction system which would be later used on the 787 series sets; the system was originally used on the 783 series sets.
The first seventeen sets, PM1 to PM17, are progressively being refurbished, with the first set to be refurbished, PM1504, being returned to service in April 2017. Various changes include the changing of the traction systems to a silicon carbide-based MOSFET traction system produced by Hitachi which produce a loud hissing sound, new single-arm pantographs to replace the older lozenge-type pantographs, tinted passenger windows and full-color LED destination displays to name a few changes. The interior and exterior design changes for the 811 series sets were handled by Don Design Associates, an industrial design company headed by famed industrial designer Eiji Mitooka.
==Incidents==
On 22 February 2002, 811 series set PM2 and 813 series sets RM008, RM101 and RM231 were involved in a head-on collision on the Kagoshima Main Line around 9:30pm JST. All the sets involved in the crash were later scrapped.
The front end of cab car KuHa 810-2 was later salvaged and used as a driving simulator located at the Kyushu Railway History Museum.
==Preservation==
The following 811 series cars have been preserved:
Car number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Date retired 	Previous sets	Location 	Notes
KuHa 810-2	Kinki Sharyo	July 1989 	February 2002	PM2 	Kyushu Railway History Museum, Kitakyushu, Kyushu, Japan	Cab only, used as simulator attraction; footage recorded from 813 series set RM205, sounds recorded from 811 series set PM1
==Gallery==
File:KuHa 810-2 2019.jpg
File:811 PM8 PM1504 2017.jpg|811 series sets PM8 and PM1504 on the Kagoshima Main Line in March 2017.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Hitachi locomotives
Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives