JNR Class ED76

Data (as of 29 Nov 2025)

History

The Class ED76 was a type of electric locomotive compatible with AC 20 kV electricity, developed by Japanese National Railways. It was initially introduced to Kyushu when electrification of the railway network in the island extended further, and this is why it had been regarded as a standard locomotive in the region. There were three groups: variants 0, 500 and 1000.

The variant 0 was built in 1965-76, and 94 locos were introduced to Kyushu. They had a steam generator for heating, as coaching stock at that time was optimised for steam locomotives. The variant 500 was introduced to Hokkaido in 1968-69, with 22 locos in total. They were totally different to the variant 0, but JNR did not treat them as a different type, because introducing a new type would be extremely troublesome when negotiating with trade unions. The variant 1000 was introduced to Kyushu again in 1970-79, with 23 locos in total. They looked identical to the variant 0, but the variant 1000 locos had enhanced braking systems for faster trains.

The Class ED76 locos were mainly used for regional services and parcel trains in Kyushu, while those in Hokkaido were allocated to both passenger and freight trains. However, they became redundant by the 1980s due to the downsizing of JNR. When JNR was privatised in 1987, 77 locos were distributed to JR Hokkaido, JR Kyushu and JR Freight.

JR Hokkaido used variant-500 locos on Hakodate Main Line including express services, but soon replaced with 721 series, and all except one were withdrawn by 1994. One of them was converted to be compatible with Seikan Tunnel (variant 550) and designated as a spare loco of Class ED79, then scrapped in 2001.

JR Kyushu had been used variant-0 locos for sleeper limited express trains and other rail tours, but all of them were withdrawn by 2012 as all coaching stock retired. Some locos were resold to JR Freight.

Those owned by JR Freight had been used across the island, especially on Kagoshima Main and Nippo Main Lines, but retired in 2025.

Photo

Static display in Otaru. Those in Hokkaido looked quite different from the others in Kyushu.