Kintaro? What is the EH500 electric locomotive that mainly runs on the Tohoku Main Line?

On the JR Tohoku Main Line, Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, and Aoimori Railway Line, which run through the Tohoku region, numerous freight trains operate in addition to passenger trains. And the locomotives at the head of these freight trains are almost always locomotives with "Kintaro" written on their sides. Those familiar with railways will know this well, but this time I will write about what kind of locomotive the "Kintaro," or " EH500 electric locomotive ," is

The EH500 "Kintaro" was born to tow vehicles from the Tokyo metropolitan area to the Tohoku region and Hokkaido

Before the Seikan Tunnel opened in 1988, freight trains connecting Honshu and Hokkaido operated by loading freight cars (vehicles carrying cargo) onto ships called Seikan Ferries

The opening of the Seikan Tunnel connected Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido by rail, eliminating the need to load freight cars onto the Seikan Ferry and allowing them to cross the Tsugaru Strait directly.
However, freight trains running between the capital and Hokkaido faced a problem:
the locomotive pulling the freight train had to be changed at least twice along the way.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the electricity used for trains is direct current (DC), so DC-only locomotives (mainly EF65 electric locomotives) were used.
On the other hand, the section of the Tohoku Main Line north of Kuroiso Station in Tochigi Prefecture uses alternating current (AC), so AC-only locomotives (ED75 electric locomotives) were used.
Furthermore, in the Seikan Tunnel connecting Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido, locomotives specifically designed for the Seikan Tunnel (ED79 electric locomotives) were used
(after entering Hokkaido, trains heading towards Sapporo also needed to be switched to diesel locomotives that run on light oil).
In addition, ED75 and ED79 locomotives were often coupled together in double-heading (two locomotives coupled together).

The ED75 electric locomotive was a locomotive that played a wide role, mainly on lines in the Tohoku region.
Another article also introduces some of the locomotive's activities.

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Having to switch locomotives twice mid-journey would result in a significant loss of time.
On the other hand, if there were a locomotive that could run on both DC and AC power and was equipped to handle the Seikan Tunnel, the hassle of switching locomotives mid-journey would be eliminated.
Moreover, it would allow JR Freight, which operates freight trains, to reduce the number of locomotive types it owns in the future, resulting in benefits such as simplified locomotive operations and reduced maintenance.

Three prototype locomotives were built with these specifications in mind, but the EH500 electric locomotive was selected and put into mass production. Its
distinctive feature at the time was that it had two locomotive bodies coupled together to achieve a towing capacity equivalent to about two conventional locomotives.

Initially, operation was centered on AC electrified sections

The prototype of the EH500 electric locomotive was completed in 1997, and mass production began in 2000. Around the time mass production started, a public contest was held to name it " ECO-POWER Kintaro ." As planned, Kintaro was put into service on freight trains connecting the Tokyo metropolitan area and Hokkaido, but the increased frequency of inspections due to the long operating distance and the decrease in operational rate due to breakdowns became bottlenecks, and for a time, its operation was mainly limited to the AC electrified section north of Kuroiso Station. It was a waste of a locomotive that had been developed to run on DC as well. Furthermore, because Kintaro's operational rate was low and there was a shortage of locomotives, it seems that the ED75 type, which Kintaro was supposed to be phased out of service, was brought back into service just to cope.

In the 2010s, with the operational rate seemingly stabilizing, the use of the ED75 locomotives on the DC electrified lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area began to expand again.
In 2012,the ED75 locomotives were, and freight trains running on the Tohoku Main Line (north of Kuroiso Station) were basically pulled by the ED75 locomotives.

Meanwhile, with the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen in 2016, changes were made to the electrification system of the Seikan Tunnel, which is now also used by Shinkansen trains (the voltage was increased from 20,000 volts to 25,000 volts).
Freight trains in the Seikan Tunnel section are now hauled by the EH800 type locomotive, which is specifically designed for the Seikan Tunnel section, and the Kintaro locomotives ceased operations in the Seikan Tunnel.

While one of the original missions of Kintaro's development, namely running through the Seikan Tunnel, has come to an end, Kintaro's operations have become more flexible, and it now runs to stations that it did not previously run to, such as Akita Freight Station on the Ou Main Line and Sagami Freight Station on the Tokaido Main Line

Also deployed in the Kanmon Tunnel

From 2007, the Kintaro locomotives began to be deployed in the Kanmon Tunnel, which connects Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures.
The purpose of their deployment was to replace the conventional EF81 locomotives, which were manufactured during the JNR (Japanese National Railways) era, and to enable the operation of long freight trains (1,300-ton freight trains) consisting of 26 container cars within Kyushu.
The Kintaro's operating section for the Kanmon Tunnel is almost entirely limited to the section from Hatabu marshalling yard in Yamaguchi prefecture to Fukuoka Freight Terminal Station in Fukuoka prefecture. Freight trains that operate beyond this section are basically switched with different locomotives at both stations. This
can be said to be a different operational policy from the Kintaro locomotives used in the Tohoku region, which pull trains over a wide area.

Kintaro becomes the ace locomotive of the Tohoku region

EH500 series: Kintaro: A total of 82 Kintaro locomotives were manufactured, with 67 mainly operating on the Tohoku Main Line and 15 operating in the Kanmon Tunnel section.
Although they also run in the Kanmon Tunnel, the author gets the impression that they are primarily locomotives of the Tohoku region, given that they were originally developed for the Tohoku Main Line and the large number of locomotives operating on that line.

As it is a JR Freight locomotive, it does not generally pull passenger trains, but in 2017, as part of the "30th Anniversary Tour of the Establishment of JR Companies," an EH500 type locomotive was seen pulling a passenger car for JR East's luxury sleeper express "Cassiopea," with passengers on board, of course

Just like the former ED75 type, it can now be said that the EH500 type: Kintaro is the undisputed ace locomotive of the Tohoku region

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career