JAPAN: JR Central has unveiled its next generation of high speed trains to operate on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, which is expected to enter revenue service from February 8 2013.
Unveiled at the railway's Hammamatsu depot on September 18, the new trains are officially designated Series N700-1000, but are branded as N700A, for Advanced.
The trains have almost the same structure, exterior design and performance as the existing Series N700 sets introduced in 2007, but offer improvements in four main areas: safety, reliability, comfort and environment, with particular emphasis on energy saving.
Energy-saving measures include the use of LED lighting in the toilet compartments and a new design of recyclable polyester moquette for the seats. Other changes include modified brake discs, bogie vibration detection, and ATC improvements.
Each 16-car trainset will have seats for 1 323 passengers, including three Green Class vehicles. There are 14 powered intermediate cars, of which two have pantographs, plus two unpowered driving trailers. Like the Series N700 sets, the new units incorporate 1° of tilt to enable operation at a maximum speed of 270 km/h on the Tokaido Shinkansen and 300 km/h on the Sanyo Shinkansen.
Having been delivered in August, the first unit is currently undergoing commissioning and test running on the Tokaido Shinkansen. JR Central expects to take delivery of six sets during the current financial year and a further seven in fiscal 2013, replacing its oldest Series 700 trainsets which entered service from 1999.
