Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 38, 2015

The 209 series (209系) is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in the Tokyo area of Japan. The series was introduced in 1993 to replace the aging 103 series stock on the Keihin-Tōhoku and Negishi lines. The concept of the 209 series was to create a low-cost, minimal lifespan train (approximately 15 years) that would be replaced rather than rebuilt when they became life-expired. The 209 series was the first of the "New series trains" (新系列電車), and served as the basis for the E501, E217, 701, and E127 series rolling stock, as well as the E231 series stock, which in turn became the blueprint for successive trains developed by JR East and other railway companies in Japan.