The fleet of 12-car sets, numbered M1 to M6, were formed as follows, with car 1 at the Tokyo end.
Car No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Designation
T1c
M1
M2
T1
T2
M1
M2
Tpk
Tps
M1s
M2s
T2c
Numbering
E153-100
E155-100
E156-100
E158-100
E159
E155
E156
E158-200
E148
E145
E146
E154
Seating capacity
86
121
121
135
124
110
110
91
75
91
91
80
Weight
56.2
59.2
61.2
53.7
53.6
59.2
61.7
55.2
54.6
59.2
62.0
56.5
Cars 6 and 10 were each equipped with a PS201 scissors-type pantograph.
Fleet details
Interior
The E1 series was the first revenue-earning shinkansen to feature 3+3 abreast seating in standard class for increased seating capacity. The upper deck saloons of non-reserved cars 1 to 4 were arranged 3+3 with no individual armrests, and did not recline. The lower decks of these cars, and the reserved-seating saloons in cars 5 to 12 had regular 2+3 seating. The Green car saloons on the upper decks of cars 9 to 11 had 2+2 seating. The trains had a total seating capacity of 1,235 passengers.
Pre-refurbishment
Post-refurbishment
History
The first E1 series set, M1, was delivered to Sendai Depot on 3 March 1994, sporting "DDS E1" logos. ローカル鉄道途中下車の旅 The first two E1 series sets delivered entered revenue-earning service on the Tohoku Shinkansen on 15 July 1994, with the original "DDS" logos replaced by "Max" logos. The original livery was "sky grey" on the upper body side and "silver grey" on the lower body side, separated by a "peacock green" stripe. From 4 December 1999, all six trainsets were transferred from Sendai Depot to Niigata Depot, with operations limited to use on Joetsu Shinkansen Max Asahi and Max Tanigawa services only.
Refurbishment
From late 2003, the fleet underwent refurbishment, which included the installation of new seating and repainting in a new livery of "stratus white" on the upper body side and "aster blue" on the lower body side, separated by a "ibis pink" stripe. All cars were made no-smoking from the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2007.
Withdrawal
The first two sets were officially withdrawn in April 2012: M1 on 2 April, and M2 on 14 April. The remaining fleet was withdrawn from service from the start of the revised timetable on 29 September 2012. A special Thank you Max Asahi service ran from Niigata to Tokyo on 27 October 2012 using an E1 series set, followed by a final run from Tokyo to Niigata on 28 October 2012, using set M4.
Bodyside logos
Between 1 December 2001 and 31 March 2002, the E1 series fleet was adorned with "Alpen Super Express" logos as part of JR East's "JR + Snow" promotional campaign. From mid August 2012 until the fleet's final withdrawal on 28 September, the remaining three sets had a second tokicrested ibis added to their logos to celebrate the rare hatching of ibis chicks in the wild.
Preserved examples
One E1 series car is preserved: car E153-104 of set M4. This was moved to the Railway Museum in Saitama in December 2017, and is on display since spring 2018.
