E657 series

The front end design is derived from the earlier Super Hitachi 651 series trains, and the pale pink body colour with red lining is intended to evoke an image of the ume plums for which the area served by the trains is famous. The end cars and Green (first class) cars feature full active suspension for improved ride quality, and yaw dampers are fitted between cars. The end bogies of the Tc driving cars are designated TR263, the inner bogies of the Tc driving cars and the Ts car are designated TR263A, and the bogies on the T1 car are designated TR262B. All the bogies use tread brakes, and the trailer bogies additionally use two disc brakes per axle. Wheel diameter is , and the distance between wheel centres is . ==Formation==

Each unit consists of ten cars, formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Ueno end. The six "M" cars are motored. Cars 2, 6, and 8 each have one PS37A single-arm pantograph. ==Interior==

Internally, the Green car (first class) accommodation is in 2+2 abreast configuration with a seat pitch of . Standard class is arranged 2+2 with a seat pitch of , compared to for Super Hitachi 651 series trains and for Fresh Hitachi E653 series trains. File:Saro E657-3 Green car inside.jpg|Green class car SaRo E657-3, March 2012 File:Moha E657-203 inside.jpg|Standard class car MoHa E657-203, March 2012 File:JRE E657 seat.jpg|Standard-class seating, March 2012 File:JRE E657 LED Information board.jpg|LED passenger information display, March 2012 ==History==

In March 2011, the first completed five cars (half a set - cars 1 to 5) were delivered from Kinki Sharyo's Osaka factory and moved to Hitachi's factory in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Test running on the Jōban Line commenced on 27 May 2011. Seven sets were delivered for the start of the revised timetable from 17 March 2012. In June 2025, JR East announced its plans to introduce a new overnight express train service in 2027, which will be operated by a modified E657 series set. The service is planned to operate in areas including the Tokyo metropolitan area and northern Tōhoku region. File:E657 K1 Minami-Nagareyama 20110523.jpg|First E657 series set, K-1, being delivered, May 2011 File:JR East E657-E655-1 20110928 osaki.jpg|Test running with E655 series "TR" imperial train coach E655-1 sandwiched in E657 series set K-1, September 2011 == Special liveries ==

Fresh Hitachi As part of its Ibaraki Destination Campaign which was planned to run between 1 October and 31 December 2023, JR East announced in November 2022 that five E657 series sets would be repainted in the liveries used with the E653 series sets during their use on Fresh Hitachi limited express services. The first set to be repainted, K-17, received the green "green lake" livery and returned to service in December 2022; the second set to be repainted, K-12, received the red "scarlet blossom" livery and returned to service on 12 February 2023; the third set to be repainted, K-2, received the yellow "narcissus" livery and returned to service on 29 April 2023; the fourth set to be repainted, K-1, received the blue "blue ocean" livery and returned to service on 10 June 2023; and the fifth and last set to be repainted, K-3, received the orange "orange persimmon" livery on 27 September 2023. File:JRE Series-E657-K17 Tokiwa-60.jpg|Set K-17 in special green "green lake" livery, May 2023 File:JRE Series-E657-K12 Hitachi-6.jpg|Set K-12 in special red "scarlet blossom" livery, July 2025 File:JRE Series-E657-K2 Hitachi-6.jpg|Set K-2 in special yellow "narcissus" livery, July 2023 File:JRE Series-E657-K1 Tokiwa-58.jpg|Set K-1 in special blue "blue ocean" livery, November 2025 File:JRE Series-E657-K3 Hitachi-6.jpg|Set K-3 in special orange "orange persimmon" livery, September 2024 ==Fleet/build details==

The manufacturers and delivery dates for the fleet are as shown below. ==References==