500 Series Shinkansen
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Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005 |
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Interior, August 2005 |
The
500 Series Shinkansen are the fastest, most powerful and most expensive
trainsets yet to run on
Japan's
Shinkansen high-speed rail network. They are designed to be capable of 320 km/h (200 mph) although they currently operate at a maximum of 300 km/h (186 mph) in service. The running gear utilises computer-controlled active suspension for a smoother, safer ride. All sixteen cars in each train are powered, giving a maximum of 18.24 MW of power (25,000 hp). Each train costs an estimated ¥5 billion, or over US$40 million; because of that pricetag, only nine were built.
Visually they are quite striking, with a long, pointed needle nose more like that of a supersonic plane than a conventional high speed train. In 1990, Hitachi commissioned Neumeister Design of Germany to create a design for a new Shinkansen. It became the basis for the development of the 500 Series.
The first set was delivered for testing in 1995, entering passenger service in March 1997. The entire fleet of nine sets was delivered by 1998. They are normally used only on the premium
Nozomi services, but are also used on
Hikari Rail Star services during the busy holiday periods.
When the full fleet of new
N700 Series Shinkansen trains is in operation by 2009, it is expected that the 500 Series trains will be reassigned to other as yet undecided duties and restricted to the Sanyo Shinkansen. There is a possibility that they may be reformed and shortened.
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Neumeister + Partner
