JR Shikoku 7000 series

The JR Shikoku 7000 series is a Japanese outer suburban electric multiple unit operated by the Shikoku Railway Company since November 1990.
==History==
The 7000 series sets act as an outer suburban train used on JR Shikoku's Dosan and Yosan Lines. 36 cars were manufactured in 1990 by Kinki Sharyo. These cars entered service on the JR Shikoku systems on 21 October 1990. These are the first suburban trains used by the JR Group using a variable frequency drive.
The sets are based at Takamatsu or Matsuyama Depots. The cars operate in one- to three-car formations.
Since 2023 the sets have been refurbished to add a three-color LED display to their gangway doors.
==Design==
The 7000 series' body style is a somewhat contemporary body style that would be seen on trains of the time. The cars are unpainted and have blue accents.
==Specifications==
Construction is of stainless steel. Cars are 21.3 meters long, 2.87 meters wide and 3.57 meters tall. The 7000 series sets use Hitachi gate turn-off thyristor variable frequency drives that produce a roaring sound akin to a car shifting gears. Car 7016 used a Fuji Electric insulated gate bipolar transistor that produced a melodic wail, but the IGBT drives appear to have been replaced with Hitachi GTO drives as of December 2017. Car 7010 on the other hand has had its GTO drives replaced with Hitachi IGBT drives which produce a hissing sound.
The 7000 series sets are unique in that the sets have two functionally different sub-variants, the 7000 and 7100 series cars. The 7000 series cars are double-ended powered cars and can run on their own, however, the 7100 series cars are single-ended non-powered cars; in order for them to run, a 6000 series set or a 7000 series car is required to act as a helper locomotive to move it, although the 7100 series cars can act as a control car. The locomotives are capable of wanman operation.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives