E1 Series Shinkansen

History

The first E1 series trainset, designated M1, arrived at Sendai Depot on 3 March 1994, initially displaying "DDS E1" logos, where DDS stood for double-deck Shinkansen. By the time the first two sets began carrying passengers on the Tōhoku Shinkansen on 15 July 1994, these had been swapped for "Max" logos. Their original paint scheme featured sky grey on the upper body and silver grey on the lower body, divided by a peacock green stripe. All six trainsets moved from Sendai Depot to Niigata Depot on 4 December 1999, after which they only ran on Jōetsu Shinkansen services, such as Max Asahi and Max Tanigawa, and also saw use on Max Yamabiko, Max Toki, and Max Aoba runs.

Starting in late 2003, the fleet was refurbished with new seats and a fresh livery: stratus white above and aster blue below, separated by an ibis pink stripe. From 18 March 2007, all cars were designated no-smoking. The first two sets were retired in April 2012, with M1 going on 2 April and M2 on 14 April. The remaining sets were withdrawn when the timetable changed on 29 September 2012.

A special "Thank you Max Asahi" service ran from Niigata to Tokyo on 27 October 2012, followed by a final trip from Tokyo to Niigata on 28 October 2012, using set M4.

Did You Know?

• The E1 series was originally planned to be classified as the 600 series.
• Between 1 December 2001 and 31 March 2002, the fleet carried "Alpen Super Express" logos as part of JR East's "JR + Snow" promotional campaign.
• From mid-August 2012 until final withdrawal, the remaining three sets had a second toki crested ibis added to their bodyside logos to mark the hatching of ibis chicks in the wild.