E233 series

The E233 series is a Japanese commuter electric multiple unit operated by the East Japan Railway Company since December 2006 on both urban commuter and suburban long-distance services. It is one of a few main types of rolling stock used on urban commuter services on JR East, with another being the E231 series sets, which the E233 series sets are designed to complement.
==History==
The E233 series was designed in 2006 to replace various city commuter trains like 103, 201, 203, 205, 207 series and 209 series sets due to aging. The first set, H43, was delivered in September 2006 and began test running that month; the sets entered service on 26 December 2006 on the Chūō Line (Rapid). However, the E233 series weren't manufactured to replace the rolling stock of the Chūō-Sōbu Line, as the E231 series sets on the line are sufficient enough to last a few more years.
Most cars are still in service and are based at various depots around Japan. A total of seven cars have been scrapped due to accident damage.
==Design==
The E233 series uses a modern design with an unpainted stainless steel body very much like most JR East commuter trains. The basic designs of the sets was designed by industrial designer Kenji Ekuan of GK Design Group. Each set has a different color scheme to indicate which area the sets serve. Unlike the E231 series sets however, the E233 series sets have a standardized body style for all lines, with the exception of the narrow-bodied E233-2000 series sets. Most E233 series sets have dual top-mounted high-intensity discharge headlights; some sets have had those headlights switched out for more modern square-shaped LED fixtures.
===Variations===
;Livery variations
Variant 	Front end	Body side	Lines served
 	 	 	
E233-0 series	
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100"	 	
 	 	 	
;Cab design variations
There are two cab design variations of the E233 series. One is used for the E233-2000 series sets and the other is a standard body design used on all other variations; within the standard body design, there is a small variation in where the location of the service number LED display is placed.
E233 Kawagoe Open Day 2015.jpg|Various E233 series sets exhibited at the Kawagoe Open Day in 2015
E233-8500 N36 Musashi-Shinjō 2017.jpg|E233-8500 series set N36 in March 2017
E233-2000 Yoyogi-Uehara Through 16 2012.jpg|E233-2000 series set MaTo16 in June 2012
E233-1000 Keihin-Tōhoku 179 2017.jpg|E233-1000 series set Ura179 in December 2017
E233-1000 Keihin-Tōhoku 145 2017.jpg|E233-1000 series set Ura140 in October 2017
E233-3000 L06 Takasaki Line 2012.jpg|E233-3000 series outer-suburban set L06 (now numbered U622) in October 2012
==Specifications==
Construction is of stainless steel. Cars are 20 meters long, 2.95 meters wide and 3.98 meters high. Almost all variants of the E233 series use Mitsubishi insulated gate bipolar transistor variable frequency drives; these make a hissing sound when accelerating from idle. However, the later E233-3000 series sets use a different kind of variable frequency drive; a two-level IGBT drive manufactured by Hitachi, which makes a higher-pitched wooshing sound.
The E233 series sets are one of a few sets which are the blueprints for successive trains developed by JR East; others include the E231 and 209 series sets. The sets came with full-color LED destination displays from new, with LED end-of-train lights located next to the destination displays.
==Incidents==
On 8 September 2008, a Ōme Line ten-car E233-0 series set Ao661 rammed into a truck that was stuck at a level crossing at 6:25pm JST. The truck was completely destroyed by the crash, while six cars of the set were damaged, of which five sustained severe damage. The truck driver escaped with minor injuries, but there were no injuries to the train driver, conductor or passengers due to crushable zones built-in to the E233 series' cabs. Five replacement cars were manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries; the replacement cars retained their original numbers, while the five cars severely damaged by the crash were scrapped at the Tokyo General Rolling Stock Centre.
Keihin-Tōhoku Line E233-1000 series set Ura177 collided with a track maintenance vehicle on 23 February 2014 at 1:11am JST while carrying an empty stock train near Kawasaki Station; the first two cars of the set derailed with the first car ending up on its side. The driver and conductor escaped the incident with minor injuries; no passengers were on board at the time. The reason for the crash was determined to be the track maintenance crew; the crew accidentally dispatched the track maintenance vehicle, forgetting about the last train service on the Keihin-Tōhoku Line. Both of the cars that derailed suffered severe damage and were officially withdrawn on 4 December 2016 and scrapped the same month.
==Trivia==
*Because of tetraphobia in Japan, no E233-4000 series trains were ever designed or manufactured; this is due to one of a few ways to say the number "4" being notably similar to one of a number of ways the word "death" is said in Japan.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:J-TREC locomotives
Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Tokyu Car locomotives
Category:Locomotives