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Sanyō Shinkansen 40 year anniversary


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For those interested, this could be something very very cool!

 

150723_500_01-600x362.jpg

http://trafficnews.jp/post/41809/

 

40 Years Sanyō Shinkansen, combined with the 20th anniversary of the immensely popular animation series "Neon Genesis Evangelion" broadcasted on TV. This makes for one incredibly sexy 500 Series. This is pretty wild and I like it.

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Time table, I guess you can kiss the Plarail service goodbye.

 

Hakata 6: 36- (Kodama 730 No.) → 11: 14 Shin 
Shin 11: 32- (Kodama 741) → 16: 07 Hakata 

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Wonderful. The best news so far! Two of my favourites mixed into one, how can I not like it??  :)

 

Model please?  :)

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A can imagine the Tomix 8 car set going well past 30,000 yen.  Licensing mixed with full car body paint jobs will make this puppy expensive.

Edited by katoftw
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A can imagine the Tomix 8 car set going well past 30,000 yen.  Licensing mixed with full car body paint jobs will make this puppy expensive.

 

Indeed... Throw in a specially designed box and push it up to 30,000. It's ok, i want this badly! Even at 30,000 i would still want it ~~ :)

 

500 series is my ultimate train like. Evangelion is my all time favourite anime aside from Gundam... Throw them together and i'll be crazy enough to spend that kind of money man ....

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Only one thing though: this trainset will be limited to the Kodama service (the Kodama trains between Shin-Osaka and Hakata Stations use 700 Series Hikari Rail Star and 500 Series trainsets, plus other 700 Series trainsets). I'd love to see JR West assign this train to a Hakata to Shin-Osaka Nozomi service, but the slow acceleration of the 500's would make it incompatible with the N700, N700A and N700-8000 trainsets now running between Hakata and Shin-Osaka.

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Only one thing though: this trainset will be limited to the Kodama service (the Kodama trains between Shin-Osaka and Hakata Stations use 700 Series Hikari Rail Star and 500 Series trainsets, plus other 700 Series trainsets). I'd love to see JR West assign this train to a Hakata to Shin-Osaka Nozomi service, but the slow acceleration of the 500's would make it incompatible with the N700, N700A and N700-8000 trainsets now running between Hakata and Shin-Osaka.

 

Erm sorry? I think the 500 series has always been limited to Kodama service ever since it retired from Nozomi service since its last run in 28 Feb 2010...

 

The Railstar entered Kodama service later I think, and there are still 2 Hikari Rail Star services Hikari 442 and 440 I think... All other services are Kodama. There are also N700 or even N700A / N700a running Kodama services sometimes, which I encountered in April. It's pretty strange how 16 cars were used for Kodama services with 3 Green Cars ~~ But boy they were packed. It seems Kodama services were cheaper as compared with Hikari and Nozomi being the most expensive, but as i'm using the Rail pass I couldn't really be too sure...

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From Matthew Davis at JRM

 

JR West has announced it will be operating an "Evangelion" themed 500 series shinkansen on the Sanyo shinkansen line from this fall until March 2017. The new livery is designed by the show's mecha designer and the project is being overseen by the head of the show.

 

Here's a drawing of the design:

http://www.500type-eva.jp/assets/images/about/img_insert01.jpg

 

And a promotional poster:

http://www.500type-eva.jp/download/1080x1920M.jpg

 

In addition to the new exterior color, inside the cars riders will be able to enjoy content with the world of Evangelion as the theme.

 

(For those who aren't familiar with it, "Evangelion" is an animated science fiction TV show from Japan.)

 

Article in Japanese:

http://trafficnews.jp/post/41809/

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Yes the credit card groaned when that email came in... Justmhopemthe yen is low when it hits...

 

JEFF

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Only one thing though: this trainset will be limited to the Kodama service (the Kodama trains between Shin-Osaka and Hakata Stations use 700 Series Hikari Rail Star and 500 Series trainsets, plus other 700 Series trainsets). I'd love to see JR West assign this train to a Hakata to Shin-Osaka Nozomi service, but the slow acceleration of the 500's would make it incompatible with the N700, N700A and N700-8000 trainsets now running between Hakata and Shin-Osaka.

I'm fine with it being a Kodama service.  Being a 500 series, naturally it was gonna be one.  It is only 8 cars, so it will never see Nozomi service ever.

 

I don't think the business men on the Nozomi would appreciate the train.  They are trying to get from A to B as quickly as possible.  The families and slower travelers that use Kodama services will do so more.  I'd like to believe those making the decisions on these promos would think the same.

Edited by katoftw
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Actually, I'd like to see JR West put this trainset into one of the few remaining Hikari Rail Star services and limit its stops between Hakata and Shin-Osaka to Shin-Yamaguchi, Tokuyama, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji, and Shin-Kobe Stations. Imagine this trainset blasting by Higashi-Hiroshima Station at around 280 km/h.  :)

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Actually, I'd like to see JR West put this trainset into one of the few remaining Hikari Rail Star services and limit its stops between Hakata and Shin-Osaka to Shin-Yamaguchi, Tokuyama, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji, and Shin-Kobe Stations. Imagine this trainset blasting by Higashi-Hiroshima Station at around 280 km/h.  :)

 

Indeed. We haven't seen 500 series screaming pass stations for a LONG time ever since 2010...

 

However, Hikari Rail star services also terminates at Higashi-Hiroshima station. The remaining 2 Hikari Rail Star services are Hikari 440 & 442 (they are DARN early, something like leaving Hakata at 0600 at 0616 am, the first few early birds shinkansans!) and both stops at Higashi-Hiroshima:

 

ひかり440
6:00
岡山
700系8両編成。
 
ひかり442
6:16
新大阪
700系8両編成。

 

The only stations they skip at Asa, Shin-Onomichi & Shin-Kurashiki stations... They look like Kodamas with just 3 stations skipped....

 

I do hope they can perhaps push forth beyond Shin-Osaka... This would be more related to Evangelion as the anime captures Dai Shan Shin-Tokyo (Tokyo Number 3) which seems to be somewhat near to Shizuoka and Shin-Fuji areas... So if the Eva 500 is able to terminate at Shin-Fuji that would be purely fitting to the anime. And they can then announce at the station: "Shu-Ten Dai San Shin-Tokyo Shin-Fuji desu!'

Edited by JR 500系
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The 500系 seems to have the distinction of being the smallest (full size) shinkansen series (only nine 16 car formations built, eight 8 car formations left) with the largest amount of special liveries/special decals.

Though I'm a big anime fan, and I like the 500系 (though for me she died the day the last 16 car formation was retired, the 8 car V formations never did anything for me) this special livery doesn't do anything for me. That said, I'm not a big fan of 'painted trains' and special liveries, so take my opinion for what it's worth.

 

 

 

 

JR West has announced it will be operating an "Evangelion" themed 500 series shinkansen on the Sanyo shinkansen line from this fall until March 2017.

 

[speculation] hmm... Interesting, so a tentative retirement of the remaining 500系 formations (or at least this one) by the March 2017 timetable revision seems like a possibility. Wouldn't really surprise me though, with the oldest V formation (V2) celebrating her 18th birthday this month, and the youngest (V9) at 16, I don't think they have that much time left. That said, I haven't heard anything about a retirement schedule yet, so this is just speculation on my part. 

 

 

 

 

 I'd love to see JR West assign this train to a Hakata to Shin-Osaka Nozomi service,but the slow acceleration of the 500's would make it incompatible with the N700, N700A and N700-8000 trainsets now running between Hakata and Shin-Osaka.

 

As well as capacity (8 cars vs 16), max speed (285 vs 300) and average speeds (limited on sections due to the lack of a tilting mechanism). There's a good reason why both JR Tōkai and JR West have been exclusively running 16 car formations for Nozomi services ever since the first service in 1992, they simply need the capacity of a 16 car train.

With both JR Tōkai and JR West standardizing on the N700A系, with the original N700系 formations going the way of the dodo (only 11 formations left at JR Tōkai and 8 at JR West*, the rest having been upgraded to N700A standard)  I don't think you'll ever see a 500系 on a Nozomi service again, with perhaps the exception of it's 'arigatō 500系 Shinkansen' final run somewhere in the coming years

 

 

It's pretty strange how 16 cars were used for Kodama services with 3 Green Cars ~~ But boy they were packed.

 

Historically speaking, this isn't all that strange. In the period between 1973 and 1984 all Tōkaido/Sanyō shinkansen services where covered by 16 car 0系 formations, even the Kodama formations (K formations post 1972 revision) where compromised of 16 cars (though normally using only one green car and one food/refreshment car). Only In 1984 was there a change as J.N.R. reduced capacity by reforming the 16 car K formations into 12 car S/Sk formations, followed in 1986 by the formation of the first six car R formation (R0) for the Sanyō shinkansen, and after the J.N.R. split, the R1~R27 group in 1987~1990 (not to be confused with the later R61~R68 sub formations (2000~2008). JR Tōkai on the other hand extended their S/Sk Kodama formations to 16 car Y/Yk formations between 1990 and 1991, even though they where mainly used on the Tōkaido shinkansen they would occasionally find their way to the Sanyō shinkansen, and where even be used on some Hikari services until 1998 (the last scheduled 0系 Hikari service), this in it's self wasn't that strange as Hikari formations could be used on Kodama services (especially after newer series where delivered, denoting older series to lesser services before retirement), while Kodama formations could sometimes be found in Hikari service as well.

This continued with the newer series as well, it wasn't too strange to see the 16 car 100系 X, G and even V formations (originally the Grand Hikari formations, also sporting three green cars formations in Kodama service near the end of their service lives (roughly between 1997 and 2003)0. Same happened with the 300系 formations (only ever used in 16 car J and F formations), they where also used increasingly often on Kodama services near the end of their service life, and especially after new N700系 formations started freeing up sixteen car 700系 formations to replace them on most Hikari services.

During this time, the amount of short (less then 16 cars) Kodama formations on the Sanyō shinkansen has dwindled as well. While the 1990's and early 2000's saw a peak in the usage of shorter formations, this changed in the late 2000's. While the last 0系 R formations (R61~R68 group) where replaced by eight newly formed 500系 V formations in November 2008, the 100系 P formations (4 car formations, last retired in 2011) and K formations (6 car formations, last retired in 2012) where not replaced by similarly sized formations, similarly the last 300 formations where retired in 2012 while still in their original 16 car configurations, leaving the eight 500系 V formations as the sole surviving sub 16 car Kodama formations.

 

 

 

There are also N700 or even N700A / N700a running Kodama services sometimes... 

 

With the amount of 16 car 700系 formations dwindling (22 formations have been scrapped already), and the huge number of 16 car N700系 formations on property (98 N700A系 formations and 19 N700系 formations as of April 2015) I'm not that surprised.

 

 

 

 

Erm sorry? I think the 500 series has always been limited to Kodama service ever since it retired from Nozomi service since its last run in 28 Feb 2010...

 

Yes and no, while it's true that the 8 V formations on property after the retirement of the only non-reformed W formation in February 2010 (prototype formation W1) are mainly used for scheduled Kodama services, A few have seen use on a limited number of scheduled Hikari services between the march 2012 and March 2013 timetable revisions.

 

 

 

Imagine this trainset blasting by Higashi-Hiroshima Station at around 280 km/h

 

Don't have to:

 

Hikari at Higashi-Hiroshima (2012/2013):

 

 

Nozomi 182 at Himeji, May 18th 2013 (positioning move to Hakata Shinkansen center using a Nozomi schedule):

 

Edited by 200系
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I knew we could always count on 200系 san to provide us with the most accurate and detailed description when it comes to Shinkansens ~  :)  

 

Thank you for the valuable information read! I learnt a lot today on my favourite train of all time... I never knew 500 series ran as a Hikari before! Amazing! But Hikari 441 is probably an early morning service, something like 0600 ++ the first few trains to leave Shin-Osaka/ Tokyo...

 

Amazing I still wonder how you get all these information 200系 san ~ Truly kudos!  :)

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Really love this train! Will have to make some time to see and ride this train on my upcoming trip!

Hope this look as good as it sound and this train model will soon be coming home with me!

 

A good brief summary 200系, enjoyed reading it! If ever need information about shinkansen, I know who to look for!

 

Anyone know when will the train start running? 

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Thanks for the feedback, always glad to be of assistance!

 

 

 

Amazing I still wonder how you get all these information 200系 san ~ Truly kudos!

 

 

Some mysteries are better left unresolved, don't you think? ;)

 

Seriously though: Rosters, books, Japanese websites (cross referenced off course) , press releases/timetable revisions, analyzing (period) photographs/video footage etc. 

Combine this with a passion for information, education, language, writing and history (I don't think I have to point out that the majority of my posts reference back to one of the older series (mainly the 0系 and 200系 for the shinkansen, but the older 1067mm 'Kokutetsu' series as well) or retired/in the process of being retired series) and a desire to share and educate with this knowledge, and this is the result. :) For some reason I've always been like this with all of my interests. While others may prefer the feeling of building a layout or running their trains, for me as long as I have a way to expand my knowledge through books, a roster or some other data or new information to read and analyze, I'm enjoying myself.

 

-Sander

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Sander,

 

Very nicely put and great outlook on your passions/hobbies! It adds a wonderful dimension to the forum and other's enjoyment of the overall interest in all things Japanese trains!

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

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Hello!

 

Even not being a huge EVA fan, the livery of that 500 seems promising... we will have to wait a bit for the final result

 

200系, thanks for sharing all those wonderful information with us! Posts like that one makes this forum a place to learn many interesting things.

 

Cheers,

 

Jorge

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I would so much buy a model from Tomix of this trainset…

 

Let's hope they make one, not too expensive and especially not too hard to find! :-)

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