Shinkansen

The Shinkansen (新幹線, new trunk line) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen (515.4 km, 320.3 mi) in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of 2,615.7 km (1,625.3 mi) of lines with maximum speeds of 240–320 km/h (150–200 mph), 283.5 km (176.2 mi) of Mini-shinkansen lines with a maximum speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), and 10.3 km (6.4 mi) of spur lines with Shinkansen services. The network presently links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, with services along the newly constructed extension to the northern island of Hokkaido scheduled to commence in March 2016. The nickname bullet train is sometimes used in English for these high-speed trains.

The maximum operating speed is 320 km/h (200 mph) (on a 387.5 km section of the Tōhoku Shinkansen). Test runs have reached 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 603 km/h (375 mph) for maglev trains in April 2015.

400 Series Shinkansen

The 400 series (400系) was a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between 1992 and 2010 on Tsubasa services on Japan's first Mini-shinkansen line, the Yamagata Shinkansen branch from the main Tōhoku Shinkansen.

The fleet of 400 series trains was leased by JR East from the owning company, Yamagata JR Chokutsū Tokkyū Hoyū Kikō (山形ジェイアール直通特急保有機構(株)), a third-sector company jointly owned by JR East and Yamagata Prefecture.

They were originally six-car sets, but a seventh car (type 429) was added in 1995 to each set due to the popularity of the new Tsubasa services.

Pre-series set

The pre-series set, S4, was delivered in October 1990, and shown off to the press on 26 October 1990. This was a six-car set arranged as shown below with all cars motored.

The unit featured three different types of bolsterless bogies: DT9028 on cars 1 and 3, DT9029 on cars 2 and 4, and DT9030 on cars 5 and 6. The Green car seats featured seat-back TV screens, a feature not used on the subsequent production sets.

800 Series Shinkansen

The 800 series (800系) is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by JR Kyushu on the Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail line. Built by Hitachi, the trains were introduced on the Tsubame services from March 2004.

The 800 series has a maximum speed of 260 km/h (160 mph) in service, although its maximum design speed is 285 km/h (177 mph). It was one of the two recipients of the 45th Laurel Prize awarded by the Japan Railfan Club in 2005.

It abandons the 700's "duckbill" nose in favor of a sharper nose. The livery is white, with a red stripe.

Following the opening of the entire Kyushu Shinkansen route on 12 March 2011, 800 series trains were primarily used on all-stations Tsubame services operating mostly between Hakata and Kumamoto. They also operate some Sakura services within the Kyushu Shinkansen.

Formation

Cars 2 and 5 are equipped with PS207K single-arm pantographs.

Build history

Interior

The Kyushu Shinkansen runs a large portion in tunnels. Designers paid special attention to the interior design of the 800 series to create a more pleasant travel experience. More traditional materials and design features are used to embody Kyushu's warm and natural environment.