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Locomotive4 min read

JNR Class EF65

国鉄EF65形電気機関車

The Class EF65 is a 6-axle (Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement) 1,500 V DC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1965. A total of 308 locomotives were built between 1965 and 1979 (the largest number of any single electric-locomotive class in Japanese National Railways history), with 52 still in service as of 1 April 2016.

It was designed by Japanese National Railways (JNR) as a standard locomotive type for level routes, developed from the earlier Class EF60 design for use primarily on the Tokaido Main Line and Sanyo Main Line. The builders were Kawasaki Sharyo (later Kawasaki Heavy Industries), Kawasaki Denki Seizo, Tokyo Shibaura Electric (Toshiba) at its Fuchu works, Kisha Seizo, Toyo Denki Seizo, Nippon Sharyo and Fuji Electric.

The immediately preceding mainline type, the Class EF60 (from its second batch onward), had ample tractive effort but a rated speed of only 39.0 km/h (little better than older locomotives), which made it ill-suited to the faster passenger and freight schedules then being sought. The EF65 was therefore based on the third-batch EF60 but shifted its gear ratio toward higher speed and added a newly designed vernier electric-camshaft controller, so as to combine high-speed running with strong tractive effort. Each locomotive carries six MT52 nose-suspended traction motors for a total rated output of 2,550 kW. During the JNR era the locomotives were used for freight trains and also for passenger work, primarily hauling night trains such as the Izumo sleeping-car limited express and the Ginga sleeping-car express.

JNR EF65 56 hauling a cement freight train near Sakoshi on the Ako Line in 1986.
JNR EF65 56 hauling a cement freight train near Sakoshi on the Ako Line in 1986. · Olegushka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

Planned essentially as a freight locomotive, the EF65 was also developed into derived versions that made use of its high-speed performance. The class was initially divided into the EF65-0 subclass for general freight (numbers EF65 1–135) and the EF65-500 subclass for express freight and passenger use. The EF65-0 subclass was designed for general freight on the Tokaido and Sanyo Main Lines, with 135 locomotives built between 1965 and 1970; as of 2016 all EF65-0 locomotives had been withdrawn. The EF65-500 subclass consisted of 42 locomotives, including newly built units and units (EF65 535–542) modified from the earlier EF65-0 subclass (EF65 77–84) for overnight sleeping-car services and express freight operating at a maximum speed of 110 km/h. Within the 500 subclass, locomotives hauling passenger services were designated "P" type and those for freight "F" type; the "P" designation derives from the initial of "passenger" and the "F" from that of "freight." The P type carried the equipment needed to haul 20-series "Blue Train" sleeping cars; the F type, based on the P type, added the multiple-unit control and other equipment needed to haul 1,000-tonne freight trains at 100 km/h. The EF65-1000 (numbers EF65 1001–1139), intended for both passenger and freight service and referred to as the "PF" type because it combined the functions of the P and F types, comprised 139 locomotives built between 1969 and 1979; it was based on the F type, with a gangway door in the cab front and strengthened protection against snow and cold.

Conversion of five 6th-batch Class EF65-0 locomotives, numbers EF65 131 to EF65 135, into Class EF67-100 banking locomotives for the "Senohachi" section of the Sanyo Main Line began in 1990; in this conversion the control system was changed to armature-chopper control and the gear ratio was altered to 16:71 to increase tractive effort at low speeds. From May 2012 JR Freight renumbered a group of former EF65-1000 locomotives into the EF65-2000 subclass to differentiate them from units fitted with driving recording units mandated for operation above 100 km/h. A number of individual locomotives also carried special liveries: JR East's "Super Express Rainbow" machine, introduced in 1987, was painted overall in cherry red with a large white "EF65" logo on the bodysides and a white band along the lower body, while JR Central applied a "Euroliner" scheme, JR West a "Yuyu Salon Okayama" and a "Twilight Express" scheme, to assigned units. Across the fleet, allocations fell from 269 locomotives at the 1987 division and privatisation of JNR (199 JR Freight, 42 JR East, 5 JR Central, 23 JR West) to 95 in 2009 and 52 in 2016; JR Freight's first post-privatisation withdrawal of an EF65 came in 1993. The withdrawal of the Izumo in March 2006 ended the class's work on sleeping-car limited expresses, and that of the Ginga in March 2008 ended all regular passenger haulage; the locomotives thereafter worked mainly freight trains as replacement by the successor Class EF210 progressed. As of 1 April 2016, only one EF65-500 (EF65 501, owned by JR East) remained in service; 15 EF65-1000 units remained, operated by JR East and JR West; and 36 EF65-2000 units remained, operated by JR Freight. JR Freight's regular EF65 workings ended with the March 2025 timetable revision, and the company has since used the class on non-scheduled freight and rolling-stock delivery runs. Seven units have been preserved, including EF65 1 at the Kyoto Railway Museum.

Timeline
  • 1965Class EF65 enters service; designed by JNR as a standard flat-route DC locomotive developed from the Class EF60. The EF65-0 (general freight) and EF65-500 (P-type passenger / F-type freight) subclasses are built from 1965, the P type being equipped to haul 20-series "Blue Train" sleeping-car services.
  • 1969Production of the EF65-1000 "PF" subclass (general-purpose, with a front gangway door and cold-weather equipment) begins; 139 units (1001–1139) are built through 1979, bringing total production of the class to 308.
  • 1990Conversion of five 6th-batch EF65-0 locomotives (EF65 131–135) into Class EF67-100 banking locomotives for the "Senohachi" section of the Sanyo Main Line begins in 1990.
  • 2008Withdrawal of the "Izumo" sleeping-car limited express (March 2006) ends EF65 work on sleeping-car limited expresses, and withdrawal of the "Ginga" sleeping-car express (March 2008) ends all regular passenger haulage by the class; the fleet thereafter works mainly freight.
  • 2016As of 1 April 2016, 52 locomotives remain in service: one EF65-500 (EF65 501, JR East), 15 EF65-1000 (JR East and JR West), and 36 EF65-2000 (JR Freight); all EF65-0 units have been withdrawn. JR Freight's regular EF65 operation later ends with the March 2025 timetable revision.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

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