JR Freight Class EF210

By the early 1990s the early units of the standard DC-section Class EF65 were around 30 years old, and although the 6,000 kW (one-hour rated) Class EF200 had appeared in March 1990 intended to haul 1,600-tonne trains, that 1,600-tonne haulage could not be realised because of capacity limits in the substation power supply; the EF210 was therefore developed as the successor to the EF65 and EF66 and to expand 1,300-tonne container freight on the Tokaido and Sanyo Main Line system. Kawasaki Heavy Industries built the locomotives at its factory in Kobe, a role later taken over by Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing, and Mitsubishi Electric is also credited as a builder. The type runs on 1,500 V DC overhead supply and has a one-hour rated power output of 3,390 kW, a one-hour rated tractive effort of 199 kN, a service weight of 100.8 t, a maximum operating speed of 110 km/h and a design maximum speed of 120 km/h.

Its GTO-thyristor VVVF inverter control of cage three-phase induction motors is the same system as the EF200, but to reduce manufacturing and operating cost the EF210 became the first Japanese domestic locomotive to adopt a 1C2M arrangement, with one inverter controlling two motors. Six nose-suspended traction motors, each with a one-hour rating of 565 kW, give a combined 3,390 kW. The EF210 was also the first Japanese electric locomotive to adopt the concept of a "30-minute rating", being designed with a 3,540 kW (30-minute) rating in addition to the one-hour rating, which allows it to work the continuous 10-per-mil grade near Sekigahara on the Tokaido Main Line and to share duties with the Class EF66. The bodywork incorporates measures to pass the extremely narrow tunnels west of the Torigoe Tunnel on the Yosan Line, enabling the type to run through onto the electrified section of Shikoku.

Based at Okayama, Shin-Tsurumi and Suita (Osaka) depots, they are primarily used on freight on the Tokaido Main Line and Sanyo Main Line, replacing Class EF66 locomotives. As of 1 April 2016, 101 EF210s were operated by JR Freight, based at the Shin-Tsurumi (Kawasaki), Suita (Osaka) and Okayama depots; by 1 April 2026, 169 had been built. The type comprises four variants: the Class EF210-901 prototype, the Class EF210-0 full-production version, the Class EF210-100, and the Class EF210-300.

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The pre-production prototype, EF210-901, was built by Mitsubishi Electric and Kawasaki Heavy Industries in March 1996 and allocated new to Shin-Tsurumi depot for various trials. It was transferred to Okayama Depot in August 1997 and entered revenue service on 5 December 1997; in March 2005 it was reworked to production standard, receiving the production FMT4 traction motors and the production gear ratio. Following evaluation of the prototype, the first full-production locomotive, EF210-1, was delivered to Okayama in July 1998; the main differences from the prototype were a change of traction motors from FMT3 (565 kW) to the smaller FMT4 type (565 kW), an "ECO-POWER Momo Taro" logo on the bodyside, and a reduction in bogie wheelbase from 2,600 mm to 2,500 mm. All 18 of the EF210-0s, built between July and November 1998, are allocated to Okayama Depot.

The EF210-100 sub-class (EF210-101 to EF210-173), built from March 2000 and in revenue service from 10 April 2000, incorporates minor improvements including IGBT replacing GTO, with one inverter controlling each motor (1C1M), and single-arm pantographs from EF210-109 onwards; 73 locomotives were in operation as of 1 April 2016, based at Okayama, Shin-Tsurumi and Suita (Osaka) depots. The EF210-300 subclass was built to replace the 0-series Class EF67 banking locomotives, by then more than 30 years old, which were dedicated to assisting freight trains on the steeply-graded "Senohachi" section of the Sanyo Main Line between Seno and Hachihonmatsu. The first locomotive, EF210-301, was delivered from Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Hyogo on 3 September 2012, allocated to the Hiroshima rolling stock depot and entered service from the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013; the second locomotive entered service from 28 April 2013.

The EF210-300s are painted in an overall-blue livery with two yellow lines. New, larger draft gear at both couplers, which cushions coupler shocks when banking a train, makes their bodies 200 mm longer at each end and 400 mm longer overall. From 2015 the EF210-300 began to be allocated to Suita Depot, replacing the markedly ageing Class EF66 base series and the Class EF200; from the March 2020 timetable revision regular workings were also set east of Suita on the Tokaido Main Line, and the class as a whole now operates over a range extending from Yamaguchi and Shikoku to northern Kanto and Chiba, handling the majority of freight trains on DC-electrified sections. In the EF210 classification, "E" denotes an electric locomotive, "F" six driving axles, and "210" a DC locomotive with AC motors.

• 1996The pre-production prototype, EF210-901, built by Mitsubishi Electric and Kawasaki Heavy Industries in March 1996, is delivered to Shin-Tsurumi depot for trials and evaluation.
• 1998The first full-production locomotive, EF210-1, is delivered to Okayama in July 1998 as the EF210-0 variant, with FMT4 traction motors, the "ECO-POWER Momo Taro" bodyside logo and a 2,500 mm bogie wheelbase; full-production revenue service begins on 2 August 1998.
• 2000The EF210-100 sub-class enters production from March 2000, with revenue service beginning on 10 April 2000, adopting IGBT devices in place of GTO with 1C1M control; single-arm pantographs are fitted from EF210-109 onwards.
• 2013The EF210-300 subclass enters service from the 16 March 2013 timetable revision to replace Class EF67 banking locomotives on the steeply-graded "Senohachi" section of the Sanyo Main Line between Seno and Hachihonmatsu; the first unit, EF210-301, was delivered from Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Hyogo on 3 September 2012, and the second locomotive entered service from 28 April 2013.