Wednesday 22 February 2012

N700 Series, the Biggest Force of Shinkansen Fleet


EMU JR Central N700 series arrives at Atami Station, the Tokaido Shinkansen

Replacing the 300 series (see my blog on February 19th), the EMU Shinkansen N700 series has recently become the biggest force on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen.

The N700 series launched in 2005, is the latest model on the Tokaido and the Sanyo Shinkansen. It is composed of 16 cars; and its maximum speed is 300km per hour on the Sanyo section, and 270km per hour on the Tokaido section. In addition to its speed, the other outstanding feature is its curve passage performance. By tilting the train's body using advanced technology, the N700 series achieved an operation speed of 270km per hour on a 2500m curve.

In the early stages of introducing the N700 series, they were used for Nozomi (Desire), the fastest trains stopping only at major stations, such as Nagoya and Kyoto. But, currently, the N700 series is used for all types of Shinkansen.

Look at the top photo. It is at Atami Station, located 100km west of Tokyo on the Tokaido Shinkansen. Previously, all of the N700 series trains, Nozomi and Hikari (Light), passed through this local station; however, recently, some of the N700 series, such as Kodama (Echo), have started to stop there.


The 300 series will retire soon, meanwhile the N700 series will emerge onto center stage. We cannot resist the tide of railway history.

N700 series, Super Express Kodama at Atami Station, the Tokaido Shinkansen