JR Freight Class EF210 ECO-POWER Momotaro

Data (as of 31 Mar 2024)

History

Class EF210 is a type of electric locomotive for lines electrified with DC 1.5 kV. In the early-2000s, JR Freight developed Class EF200, a powerful but unsuccessful locomotive. The company designed the EF210 that is less powerful but cheaper than EF200, and they have been replacing Class EF65 and Class EF66.

There are three groups, variant 900 (a prototype), variant 0 (standard) and variant 300 (bank engine). The locos are allocated to three depots: Shin-Tsurumi (near Yokohama), Suita (Osaka) and Okayama. The Class EF210 is the most common locomotive in the Greater Tokyo Area and Kansai area.

JR Freight named the EF210 ECO-POWER Momotaro. "Momotaro" is a hero of Japanese folklore, whose origin is believed to be Okayama, where the EF210 was first allocated to.

Current Operations & Future Prospects

Class EF210 is widely used for freight trains in and between Tokyo and Osaka, as well as on San-yo Main Line as far as Shimonoseki. Variant 300 works as a bank engine on San-yo Main Line between Seno and Hachihommatsu in Hiroshima Prefecture, where steep gradients and tight curves exist, but the EF210-300 also hauls freight trains in other areas including Tokyo.