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JR West 681 Series / JR西日本681系

The 681 Series (681系) is a Limited Express EMU of JR West operating in Keihanshin and Hokuriku regions.

Entering service in 1992, the 681 Series was designed to speed up services from Keihanshin to the Hokuriku region. It is one of the few narrow gauge trains in Japan capable of 160km/h. As the Kosei Line and Hokuriku tunnel has no railway crossings, JR West believed that 160km/h operations could be achieved on those sections. VVVF control was adopted to improve energy efficiency and reduce weight, it was the second VVVF train from the company, after the 207 series. The type is composed of a 6-car basic formation and a 3-car additional formation. Each formation had a non walk-through front car and a walk-through car on the other end, allowing passengers to move from the basic formation to the additional formation when connected. Thus when operating independently, the front and end car of a train will look significantly different. At completion, the first car in the Kanazawa direction was the green car, but the direction of the formation was flipped soon after, and the green car is now the leading car in the Osaka direction. The 681 series was placed on Limited Express Thunderbird between Osaka and the Hokuriku region, despite being designed for a top speed of 160km/h, this was never achieved in commercial operation on the pre-selected lines. However, Limited Express Hakutaka between Hokuriku and Niigata prefecture would reach 160km/h on the third sector Hokuhoku Line, which was built to a high standard with extensive tunnelling works. A total of 102 cars of the 681 series was manufactured, with JR West ordering 84, and Hokuetsu Express (owner of the Hokuhoku Line) ordering 18. Hokuetsu Express would transfer their units to JR West following the Hokuriku Shinkansen's opening in 2015, which rendered Hakutaka pointless. As of current, the 681 series continues to operate Thunderbird and Shirasagi, as well as Noto-Kagaribi to the Noto peninsular. The number of active units are likely to decrease in the near future as the Shinkansen extension to Tsuruga in 2024 dramatically reduced Limited Express services in the region, with three formations already scrapped.

Basic Information

Max Speed: 160km/h
Acceleration: 0.5m/s/s
Motor Output: 220kW x 4 per car
In Service: 1992-

The following formations are included:

681 Series (3 Car) additional formation

Configuration: 1M2T
Max Pax: 184

681 Series (6 Car) basic formation

Configuration: 2M4T
Max Pax: 364

-can be operated in 6+3 and 6+6 consists