Let's Talk Shinkansen!

August 4, 2015

Unfortunately according to my information, 323-20 was moved to Hamamatsu to be scrapped after being removed from the museum.

A shame considering the difference between the pre-production prototype, and the eventual 300系 production formations (I personally never liked the look of the prototype). JR West didn't preserve any cars from their 9 F formations either.

So yes, there is nothing left of the production formations.

Formation J1 (originally J0, the formation of which 322-9001 was a part of) though built in 1990 as a test train/prototype, did see normal service between 1993 and 2000 before once again serving as a test train until 2005 when the first N700系 prototype took over.

Still, would've preferred to see 323-20 preserved somewhere.

Hi 200系,

Thank you for your information. So the 323-30 was scrapped at Hamamatsu.. so sad, it's only a memory now.. :(

I agree with you, I didn't really like the look of 322-9001.. that's why I was hoping they would choose to preserve the 323-30 instead of 322-9001.. didn't know the reason why they decided to keep the J1 formation car.

MOD NOTE: This is split from the poll as a new topic.

Edited August 6, 2015 by 写真家
Moderator's Note

August 4, 2015

Another question from me, related with shinkansen models, why could JR East produce so many models (E1系 - E7系 etc)? while the other JR Companies like JR Central & JR West produced less.. is it because they have massive budgets to fund the expensive costs of tests and productions as one of the reasons?

Personally I think they are the most creative JR Company seeing so many beautiful models being produced.. but why the other JR Companies couldn't do the same?

Wondering if other companies like JR Central and JR West could produce another models to add more variants of their fleet. And thus give us more options to collect their models. Although I think JR Central is now focusing on the Maglev program..

PS: Thanks Erick for sharing some nice pictures of preserved cars from 300series.. :)

August 4, 2015

That's a bit harsh in my opinion, while I don't necessarily like JR Tōkai's decision to scrap the car, it's not like JR West preserved any cars from their F formations.

I also don't see why JR Tōkai would want a 500系 end car, seeing as they had nothing to do with the development or operation of the 500系, with the exception of it running on the Tōkaidō shinkansen from 1998 till 2010. With their own flagship the 700系(for the early 2000's), already starting service in 1999, I don't see what a 500系 end car would give them, that the current 700系 end car on display doesn't already provide.

Same for the 922系 Doctor Yellow T3 that car is from JRWest, since JRCentral scrap his unit back in 2001 - 2002 should preserve

August 4, 2015

Another question from me, related with shinkansen models, why could JR East produce so many models (E1系 - E7系 etc)? while the other JR Companies like JR Central & JR West produced less.. is it because they have massive budgets to fund the expensive costs of tests and productions as one of the reasons?

Less different models means more efficiency and less expenses, which is obviously the goal for any business. With less different models maintenance becomes more routine work which means less labour is needed. Also, spare parts can all be the same instead of having different types of spare motors, bogies, screws, headlights, etc. Something that may be of importance to the Tokaido Shinkansen in particular, is that having only one train model means that it's easier to run more trains because they won't interfere with each other due to different maximum speeds and/or different acceleration and deceleration. On the busy Tokaido Shinkansen every second counts.

Why JR East can afford to produce so many different train models is a mystery to me. Not only for Shinkansen, but for (limited) express services they usually have a different train model for every service and local/commuter rolling stock is usually dedicated to a specific line by coloured stripes. JR Central has only one livery for Shinkansen services and one livery for non-Shinkansen services. A JR Central express train could easily run in another express service without there being a 'livery problem'. JR East's line-dedicated rolling stock makes that difficult, although obviously not impossible if they wouldn't mind the 'incorrect livery'. I actually wonder whether JR Central has line/service-dedicated rolling stock or that rolling stock is exchanged between train services. JR Central's livery is not something that would interfere with this.

Also, why is JR Freight not an option for your least favourite JR railway? :P

Edited August 4, 2015 by Densha

August 4, 2015

JREast has the luxury of having their own factory, so instead of larger maintenance, they just take apart the trains and use the parts to build new ones. Also most parts are standardised, so you can exchange parts between various rolling stock. The look is different, but the internal structure of the trains are more standardised than if they got them from different suppliers. As far as i can see, the Tokyo commuter stock is only a handful of types and most real variants are JNR legacy stock.

JREast has a dedicated livery for most lines, but for modern stock, it's only a vinyl wrap, so it's possible to 'repaint' a train very fast as it was done with a 231 series train that was moved from the Yamanote to the Sobu line. One newer replacement car was removed, the colors were changed and the extra car was restickered and inserted into the new set replacing the old one. However they rarely move any stock from one line to another, since if there is any problem (like a breakdown or an accident), then the whole line is stopped. This means a line either runs as designed or not at all. The lack of connecting (reserve) turnouts is also part of their philosophy.

For the shinkansen, JREast has the E1/E4 double decker group, the E2/E3 (standard/narrow) group, the E5/E6 (standard/narrow) group and now the E7/W7 group, with all groups sharing most parts and equipment. This means 4 base types, including the newest one shared with JRWest. The rest were legacy trains and even the E1 has been retired.

On the other hand, i like JRCentral's uniform look and classic JNR styled trains and they actually do move quite a bit of rolling stock around to fill gaps. The reason between the differences is that they have less money from the commuter business and the only profitable shinkansen line is loaded to the limit, so they can't accept a full stop on any of the important lines.

August 5, 2015

Hi Densha,

Thanks for your nice sharings...

Yup I understand on all those points for JR Central / West on Tokaido Shinkansen service from business point of view.. but for me, having only 3 or 4 trains operating at one line for more than 20years is kinda boring, unless you are a big fan of that train...

Well, I am not fan of freight trains, that's why I didn't put JR Freight on my least favourite..

Yeah, it's the same for me, still a mistery for me why JR East can be at the front line to produce so many wonderful new shinkansens.. note that E5 & E6 is now operating at the highest speed of 320Kph which is the fastest operational speed on shinkansen lines..

Hi kvp,

Thanks for adding some more info too..

How come they could get that luxury of having their own factory? Would be great if you could provide the reference for this matter.

Definitely the standardised parts took a very important role for the whole operations.. but seeing their different external designs for different uses or speed, of course some parts will have to adjust to the different designs, type of materials used and life time measurement, like wheels, brakes, bogies, pantographs, suspension, electronics, etc, ... and the newer models will be claimed as having better features compared to the previous ones.. but interesting to know that although the E7 is the newest, but its shape is kind a standard and came with no duckbill nose, I am sure because the design speed is limited only to 270kph or less, so no need to use striking faces like E5 or E6.. but what's the point if using E2 for longer time period is enough without having the new E7 as the operational speed is more or less the same? perhaps JR East is also giving time limits for their trains.. but that's why it is still a mystery for me about JR East..

E1 Max was too early to be withdrawn in my opinion.. compared with E4 Max, they have less capacity for 8 car set and the operational speed was just the same.. What's on JR East mind? :D what's their business point of view?

August 5, 2015

How come they could get that luxury of having their own factory? Would be great if you could provide the reference for this matter.

The first fully japanese made electric locomotive the ED40 series was built at the Omiya workshops for the JGR, which was given to JREast at the privatisation of the JNR (due to being in Tokyo). Also they decided that the amount of work to fully rebuild a train is roughly equivalent to taking it apart and building a new one from the parts, so this is how the concept of half cost, half power consumption, half service life light emu-s were born. Finally they bought Tokyu Car Corporation, the holder of the Budd stainless steel car licences in Japan and the former builder of JNR stock.

The whole idea is to always build new trains instead of rebuilding old ones. This requires standard components that can be replaced instead of repaired, standard plans that can be optically customised and also results in an average service life of 15 years for most trains. The cars are usually recycled, some of the platform door cars for the 231 series had mismatched door window frames thanks to the parts being taken from different batches of old 6 door cattle cars. These platform door cars are now taken from the 231 sets and moved to the 235 series, while the now 10 car 231 series are moved to the chuo-sobu line for replacing older trains. The 231/233/235 series has lots of looks but it's essentially the same train built with slightly different, but exchangable/upgadable parts and mostly unique front end covers.

E1 Max was too early to be withdrawn in my opinion

They weren't really liked by the travellers, especially the lower levels. Also it was a 6 set series, past its 15 years of service life. Sometimes next year, the E4 will go too. (actually i like double deckers, but there is no need for them anymore)

ps: One more remark: These light trains have a structural service life of maximum 15-20 years, depending on use before literally falling apart. In the past some european built light trains were used past their designated life and one dmu series literally fell apart in use, with the last three units each going out with a critical failiure while in passenger service (luckily with no fatalities). JREast won't risk a train loosing its bogies or traction motors while in service (the latter happened on the London underground) or a car with a slightly cracked frame being torn in half with passengers on board. Disassembling trains instead of their first rebuild means always having the newest, most modern and cheapest to operate trains with the reliability of new sets. The idea to change the looks instead of building the same style for decades is only cosmetic but one of the reasons why Japan (especially JREast) has so many different trains.

Edited August 5, 2015 by kvp

August 6, 2015

Robert, my apologies for the late reply, but writing this post took longer then I anticipated (started yesterday night, lost some of text today, still not too happy with how it turned out in the end).

Also, wouldn't it be better to split the shinkansen part from the main topic?

perhaps JR East is also giving time limits for their trains.. but that's why it is still a mystery for me about JR East..

JR East seems to more or less bases their shinkansen replacement cycle around a 17~18 year service life. JR Tōkai uses a 13~15 year cycle, while JR West uses a 18~22 year cycle. There are off course exceptions to this rule, JR East retired renewal-ed 200系 formation K21 two months shy of her 30th birthday in January 2013, while JR West's last 0系1000番台 car (just the car, not the entire formation) was retired after 28 years of service in 2005. The other renewal-ed K formations reached a 27~29 year service life as well.

why could JR East produce so many models (E1系 - E7系 etc)? while the other JR Companies like JR Central & JR West produced less.. is it because they have massive budgets to fund the expensive costs of tests and productions as one of the reasons?

Operational requirements mostly. JR East operates 5 different shinkansen, of which 3 sport different operating requirements (Hokuriku, Yamagate and Akita shinkansen) and require their own specialized equipment. if you separate them into their respective categories, it doesn't look as extravagant as it may seem at first sight, allow me to give you a condensed history of JR East's shinkansen stock:

When JR East took ownership over both lines they only had a large fleet of relatively new 200系 formations at their disposal (12 car E and F formations(several sub-groups)). After the split they started to reform the remaining E formations into G formations (G20~G28 and G40~G48, former E formation cars) while some of the F formations (F41/F42 and F51~ sub groups) as well as left over E formation cars, new build 248形 and 249形 double decker cars and rebuilt 200系200番台 end cars (221形 and 222形, former E formation 225形 and 226形 cars rebuilt with a new 'shark nose' nose section) where used to form the well known H formations (H1~H6).

In 1992 JR East opened the first of their mini-shinkansen, converting the 87km stretch between Fukushima (access to the Tōhoku shinkansen) and Yamagata on Ōu main line to 1435mm standard gauge in order to allow access to the shinkansen network, without the need for an expensive dedicated shinkansen. As the line was only re-gauged, specialized equipment had to be developed with the ability to conform to both the narrower loading gauge of the Yamagata shinkansen, and the operational requirements of a full sized shinkansen. The result was the 400系, built, more or less, to 1067mm loading gauge dimensions (23,000/20,500mm long, 2947mm wide and 4000mm tall) as well as the ability to run on both 25Kv 50hz (Tōhoku shinkansen) and 20kv 50hz (Yamagata shinkansen), while also being able to run at 240km/h (coupled to a 200系 (K formations), E4系 formation or solo) on the Tōhoku shinkansen. The first 6 car prototype formation (formation S4, later L1) was delivered in 1990, with the production formations (L2~L12) delivered in 1992.

With the opening of the Yamagata mini-shinkansen ten 8 car K formations (K1~K11) where formed in 1992, these formations where meant to be run in combination with the new 400系 L formations.

When JR East took over, the Tōhoku and Jōetsu shinkansen still terminated in Ueno. In 1991 the extension from Ueno to Tōkyō was opened, giving the cities/towns along the Tōhoku and Jōetsu shinkansen direct access to the capital. This resulted in a significant increase in commuters on both lines (after all, you could get to the center of Tōkyō within the hour even if you lived 100km or more from the center). This prompted JR East to develop the E1系 (originally supposed to be the 600系), a double decks shinkansen designed around this specific need (6 abreast unreserved seating, high capacity double decks cars etc). the six 12 car M formations (M1~M6) where delivered to JR East in 1994 and 1995.

By the mid 1990's JR East was once again in need for new equipment. With the opening of the first part of the Hokuriku shinkansen (which was known as the Nagano shinkansen in that time period) slated in 1997, and the different operational requirements posed by this line (25kv 50hz/ 25kv/60hz split, larger gradients) and with some of the 200系 formations/cars nearing the end of their 18~20 year service life (the G formations and the F30~F39 sub group) JR East began to work on a replacement of the venerable 200系, the result was the E2系0番台.

The E2系 was designed for service on both the Hokuriku and the Tōhoku/Jōetsu shinkansen, and was capable of running under both 25kv 50hz (Tōhoku/Jōetsu) and 25kv 60hz (part of the Hokuriku shinkansen), had enough power for the planned gradients (using a 6M 2T configuration for the 8 car formations) and could run at a maximum service speed of 275km/h (260km/h on the Hokuriku shinkansen, due to Seibi shinkansen limitations). The two prototype formations, S6 (Hokuriku) and S7 (Tōhoku), where delivered in 1995, with the first production formation (J2) delivered in December 1996. The E2系0番台 formations where split between 13 N formations (N1~N13) for the Hokuriku/Nagano shinkansen and 15 J formations (J1~J15) for the Tōhoku/Jōetsu shinkansen, the only difference between the two at that point in time being the ability to couple to another series (e.g. the E3系 R formations) for the J formations. The final production formation, J15, was delivered in December 1999.

With the success of the Yamagata shinkansen, and the corresponding increase in passengers carried, JR East decided to extend the 400系 L formations by adding a 7th car in 1995. During this period work continued on the conversion of sections of the Tawazako and Ōu main line (the section between Morioka and Akita) into the Akita (mini-)shinkansen which would open in 1997.

As the Akita shinkansen splits from the Tōhoku shinkansen at Morioka station, the formations intended for this service travel a lot further along dedicated shinkansen then the older Yamagata shinkansen (496 km vs 255 km), and as the 400系 was limited to a service speed of 240 km/h a new type was needed. The E3系, though the prototype still showed some 400系 inspired elements, was technically comparable to the E2系 it was designed to run in tandem with. The 5 car E3系 prototype formation, formation S8 (later R1) was delivered in 1995, and the first 5 car production formation (R formations, R2~R17) was delivered in October 1996 (incidentally before the first E2系 production formations where delivered) with the final formation of the initial batches (R17) delivered in late 1998, in the same period a 6th car was added to the earlier R formations.

With the opening of the Akita shinkansen, and increasing passenger numbers in this period, JR East decided to expand the number of 200系 K formations by reforming eleven 12 car F formations into eleven new K formations (K41~K51 sub group) with the remaining cars used to extend the original 8 car K formations (K1~K11) into the 10 car K21~K31 sub-group.

In 1999, with extension of the Yamagata shinkansen to Shinyō, two extra E3系 formations where delivered for Tsubasa services (L51 and L52 both with GTO-VVVF instalations) numbered into the E3系1000番台 A third and final formation was delivered in 2005 (L53) together with an extra order for E3系0番台 formations (R18~R26) delivered between 2002 and 2005. L53 and R18~R26 where all delivered with IGBT-VVVF installations.

Also in the mid 1990's, with passenger demand still increasing there was still a need within JR East for more high capacity shinkansen trains. With the E1系 no longer state of the art, and the need for a different format, the E4系 was born. While the E4系 took some elements from the E1系, and improved upon others, the E4系 improved upon the E1系 in a number of areas. For the traction installation an IGBT-VVVF installation was selected (the E4系 was actually the first shinkansen series to be fully equiped with an IGBT system, some of the E2系0番台 formations used an IGBT system as well), whereas the E1系 used the older GTO-VVVF system, and the body was constructed out of aluminium as opposed to steel on the E1系 (the E1系 was the final shinkansen series with a steel body). Also changed was the format, from 12 car formations to 8 car formations. the 8 car formations, alongside the addition of a nose coupler, gave JR East the ability to schedule a consolidated 16 car double decks shinkansen combination, as well as allowing combined use with the 400系 (a normal occurrence after combined running for 400系 and 200系 K formations seized in 2001), while solo use was/is still a regular occurrence as well. The first E4系 formation, P1, was delivered in October 1997 with the final P formation (P82, the E4系 was split in four groups: P1~P22, P51/52 and P81/82) delivered in 2003. The delivery of the P formations, in combination with the E2系 J formations, allowed JR East to retire the life expired 200系 G formations between 1997 and 1999.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's JR East saw itself faced with slowing growth (in it's shinkansen division) resulting in a more difficult financial situation. As a result the planned retirement of all remaining 200系 formations with new built E2系 formations by 2003, was changed a little. While the bulk of the class would still be scrapped in this period, 12 of the K formations (3 formations from the K21~K31 group (K21, K25 and K26) and 9 from the K41~K51 group (K41~K44, K46~K49 and K51)) where send through an extensive renewal program between 1999 and 2001. To replace the non renewal-ed 200系 formations, as well as providing new formations for the extension of the Tōhoku shinkansen to Hachinohe which opened in 2002. The new E2系 type would be designated as E2系1000番台, spotting a few changes from the original 0番台 cars (larger windows, improved IGBT-VVVF traction installation, 25kv 50hz capability only and single arm pantographs without pantograph covers). The first formation, formation J51 was delivered in 2001, with the production formations starting delivery in 2002. The production formations differed from the original by using 10 cars as opposed to 8, which was corrected in November 2002 when J51 received two extra cars to form a 10 car formation. In the same period the original J formations (J2~J15, J1 the prototype became formation N21) gained two extra cars creating 10 car formations similar to the new built formations (as well as a slightly altered color scheme based on the new J formations). The final J formation, formation J75 was delivered in September 2010. The delivery of the J51~J75 group of E2系 formations, allowed for the retirement of the remaining non renewal-ed 200系 formations between 2003 and 2004, with only K31 (kept in service as a replacement for renewal-ed formation K25 which was damaged during an earthquake related derailment in 2004) retired in 2006, and F19 (ATC-DS test train, later kept around for special/charter services) which was retired as final original 200系 formation in December 2007.

After the six E1系 where withdrawn from the Tōhoku shinkansen in December 1999, they where all transferred to the Jōetsu shinkansen. With the formations reaching their mid life point, all six of them went through renewal between 2003 and 2006, gaining a new livery in the process (based on the E2系 J formations).

With the 400系 formations, reaching the end of their planned service life by the end of the decade, JR East needed a replacement for this series. In 2008 October 2008 the first of an improved E3系 variant, the E3系2000番台 was delivered, sporting several improvements over the original E3系 formations. The final formation, L72, was delivered in March 2010, allowing for the retirement of the final 400系 formation.

At the end of the first decade of the 21th century, JR East wanted to increase the service speed on the Tōhoku shinkansen to 300/320 km/h. As non of the E2系 formations where capable of such speeds, a new series had to be designed. Replacement of the remaining 200系 and E1系 formations, both nearing the end of their service life played a large role as well. After successful tests with the FASTECH 360 test trains, the first E5系 prototype formation, formation S11, was delivered to JR East in 2009. delivery started in December 2010 with formation U2, and U2~U11 (some where delayed due to the Tōhoku earthquake) where delivered by the end of 2011, allowing for the retirement of the remaining 200系 K formations from the Tōhoku shinkansen with the winter 2011 timetable revision. As production increased, older E2系 J formations (J2~J15 group) and E4系 P formations where transferred to the Jōetsu shinkansen, allowing for the replacement of most of the remaining 200系 K formations and the entire E1系 fleet in 2012, the final E1系 formation, formation M4 being retired in September 2012.

In 2013 with enough E5系 formations delivered to push the remaining E2系 J2~J15 formation of the Tōhoku shinkansen, the final four 200系 K formations could be retired with the March 15th 2013 timetable revision.

As the original E3系 formations where nearing the end of their service life in the same period as well, the E6系 was developed, based around E5系 technology to replace the original formations, as well as allowing for the increase in speed on the Tōhoku shinkansen. The first prototype formation, S12, was delivered in 2011, and delivery of the production formations Z2~ commenced in 2012, allowing for the retirement of the final original E3系 formations in December of 2013.

While the E7系 is designed and built, both for the Hokuriku shinkansen extension, as well as the replacement of the life expired E2系 N formations (the last four N formations will be withdrawn at the end of this year).

and with this we've come full circle.

To explain things schematically, I created this simple diagram (doesn't include formations or sub-types) that may help explain if my text is not enough. (horizontal arrows indicate replaced by, while vertical arrows denote a transfer):

Tōhoku/Jōetsu shinkansen (lower section denotes to the Tōhoku shinkansen, the upper section to the Jōetsu):

|----------|

200系 E1系 ->E2系 <--------- E4系

^ ^ ^ ^

| | | |

200系 ->E1系/E2系 J formations/E4系->E5系

Yamagata/Akita shinkansen:

400系 -> E3系 -> E6系

Nagano/Hokuriku shinkansen:

E2系 -> E7系/W7系

but what's the point if using E2 for longer time period is enough without having the new E7 as the operational speed is more or less the same?

The E2系 N formations are reaching the end of their 18 year service life. In fact of the fourteen formation, only four are left at this point (N5, N7, N10 and N13) the other ten where scrapped last year. The final four, will be retired by the end of this year.

And while the operational speed may be the same, you can be assured that a 2014 built E7系 is a more efficient train then a 1997 built E2系 (especially the one with a GTO propulsion package), propulsion technology has simply become a lot more efficient over the past decade.

Why JR East can afford to produce so many different train models is a mystery to me. Not only for Shinkansen, but for (limited) express services they usually have a different train model for every service and local/commuter rolling stock is usually dedicated to a specific line by coloured stripes.

While it's certainly true that a standardized equipment pool provides a lot of benefits, the advantage diminishes when a fleet reaches a certain size and economy of scale takes over.

This is especially apparent in the greater Tōkyō area, where for example the number of available formations for the Yamanote line alone reaches 51 (formations 501~552. 520 has been transferred to the Chūō-Sōbu line), while the Chūō-Sōbu line also sports a fleet of 16 209系500番台 formations as well as 48 E231系 formations (the 900番台 prototype, forty-six 0番台 and a single 500番台). When a single line can support such a large fleet the disadvantages of owning several specialized sub-fleets diminish to the point that JR East is able to provide a tailored product, while still earning a significant profit.

This however is not necessarily just a JR East thing, after all J.N.R. started the Tōkyō area line specific formation idea in the first place.

Also JR East is the most profitable of all the JR companies, and if I'm not mistaken, the most profitable railway company in the world, so I'm sure they know how to run their own railroad.

I actually wonder whether JR Central has line/service-dedicated rolling stock or that rolling stock is exchanged between train services.

A mix of line specific formations and generic 2/3/4 car formations tied to a few lines at once, depending on the maintenance center they are based at.

The 231/233/235 series has lots of looks but it's essentially the same train built with slightly different, but exchangable/upgadable parts and mostly unique front end covers.

Yeah, except for the different traction motors, traction installation, trucks, AC units, door controls, driver controls and some interior differences they are more or less the same train...

Finally they bought Tokyu Car Corporation, the holder of the Budd stainless steel car licences in Japan and the former builder of JNR stock.

One of the builders of J.N.R. stock, Tōkyū was just one of the many firms building J.N.R. stock as I'm sure you know.

Larger series like the E231系 and E233系 where still built among different manufacturers, among others Kawasaki Sharyō.

Same applies to the shinkansen, batches are split between different manufacturers (split between Kawasaki, Hitachi, Kinki Sharyō and J-TREC for the E7系/W7系).

ps: One more remark: These light trains have a structural service life of maximum 15-20 years, depending on use before literally falling apart. In the past some european built light trains were used past their designated life and one dmu series literally fell apart in use, with the last three units each going out with a critical failiure while in passenger service (luckily with no fatalities). JREast won't risk a train loosing its bogies or traction motors while in service

The oldest two pre-production E217系 (as far as I know the E217系 was also built using the 209系 formula) formations has just reached 21 years of service this year, with the first production batches celebrating their 20th birthday this year as well. With JR East not showing any signs of retiring these formations just jet (the entire series was renewal-ed in 2012) they should have at least a year to a few years of service left. So perhaps we'll see if one literally falls apart in the next few years...

-Sander

August 6, 2015

The first fully japanese made electric locomotive the ED40 series was built at the Omiya workshops for the JGR, which was given to JREast at the privatisation of the JNR (due to being in Tokyo). Also they decided that the amount of work to fully rebuild a train is roughly equivalent to taking it apart and building a new one from the parts, so this is how the concept of half cost, half power consumption, half service life light emu-s were born. Finally they bought Tokyu Car Corporation, the holder of the Budd stainless steel car licences in Japan and the former builder of JNR stock.

The whole idea is to always build new trains instead of rebuilding old ones. This requires standard components that can be replaced instead of repaired, standard plans that can be optically customised and also results in an average service life of 15 years for most trains. The cars are usually recycled, some of the platform door cars for the 231 series had mismatched door window frames thanks to the parts being taken from different batches of old 6 door cattle cars. These platform door cars are now taken from the 231 sets and moved to the 235 series, while the now 10 car 231 series are moved to the chuo-sobu line for replacing older trains. The 231/233/235 series has lots of looks but it's essentially the same train built with slightly different, but exchangable/upgadable parts and mostly unique front end covers.

They weren't really liked by the travellers, especially the lower levels. Also it was a 6 set series, past its 15 years of service life. Sometimes next year, the E4 will go too. (actually i like double deckers, but there is no need for them anymore)

ps: One more remark: These light trains have a structural service life of maximum 15-20 years, depending on use before literally falling apart. In the past some european built light trains were used past their designated life and one dmu series literally fell apart in use, with the last three units each going out with a critical failiure while in passenger service (luckily with no fatalities). JREast won't risk a train loosing its bogies or traction motors while in service (the latter happened on the London underground) or a car with a slightly cracked frame being torn in half with passengers on board. Disassembling trains instead of their first rebuild means always having the newest, most modern and cheapest to operate trains with the reliability of new sets. The idea to change the looks instead of building the same style for decades is only cosmetic but one of the reasons why Japan (especially JREast) has so many different trains.

Hi kvp..

Thanks for adding more information... :) really appreciate it..

August 6, 2015

Robert, my apologies for the late reply, but writing this post took longer then I anticipated (started yesterday night, lost some of text today, still not too happy with how it turned out in the end).

Also, wouldn't it be better to split the shinkansen part from the main topic?

JR East seems to more or less bases their shinkansen replacement cycle around a 17~18 year service life. JR Tōkai uses a 13~15 year cycle, while JR West uses a 18~22 year cycle. There are off course exceptions to this rule, JR East retired renewal-ed 200系 formation K21 two months shy of her 30th birthday in January 2013, while JR West's last 0系1000番台 car (just the car, not the entire formation) was retired after 28 years of service in 2005. The other renewal-ed K formations reached a 27~29 year service life as well.

Operational requirements mostly. JR East operates 5 different shinkansen, of which 3 sport different operating requirements (Hokuriku, Yamagate and Akita shinkansen) and require their own specialized equipment. if you separate them into their respective categories, it doesn't look as extravagant as it may seem at first sight, allow me to give you a condensed history of JR East's shinkansen stock:

When JR East took ownership over both lines they only had a large fleet of relatively new 200系 formations at their disposal (12 car E and F formations(several sub-groups)). After the split they started to reform the remaining E formations into G formations (G20~G28 and G40~G48, former E formation cars) while some of the F formations  (F41/F42 and F51~ sub groups) as well as left over E formation cars, new build 248形 and 249形 double decker cars and rebuilt 200系200番台 end cars (221形 and 222形, former E formation 225形 and 226形 cars rebuilt with a new 'shark nose' nose section) where used to form the well known H formations (H1~H6).

In 1992 JR East opened the first of their mini-shinkansen, converting the 87km stretch between Fukushima (access to the Tōhoku shinkansen) and Yamagata on Ōu main line to 1435mm standard gauge in order to allow access to the shinkansen network, without the need for an expensive dedicated shinkansen. As the line was only re-gauged, specialized equipment had to be developed with the ability to conform to both the narrower loading gauge of the Yamagata shinkansen, and the operational requirements of a full sized shinkansen. The result was the 400系, built, more or less, to 1067mm loading gauge dimensions (23,000/20,500mm long, 2947mm wide and 4000mm tall) as well as the ability to run on both 25Kv 50hz (Tōhoku shinkansen) and 20kv 50hz (Yamagata shinkansen), while also being able to run at 240km/h (coupled to a 200系 (K formations), E4系 formation or solo) on the Tōhoku shinkansen. The first 6 car prototype formation (formation S4, later L1) was delivered in 1990, with the production formations (L2~L12) delivered in 1992.

With the opening of the Yamagata mini-shinkansen ten 8 car K formations (K1~K11) where formed in 1992, these formations where meant to be run in combination with the new 400系 L formations.

When JR East took over, the Tōhoku and Jōetsu shinkansen still terminated in Ueno. In 1991 the extension from Ueno to Tōkyō was opened, giving the cities/towns along the Tōhoku and Jōetsu shinkansen direct access to the capital. This resulted in a significant increase in commuters on both lines (after all, you could get to the center of Tōkyō within the hour even if you lived 100km or more from the center). This prompted JR East to develop the E1系 (originally supposed to be the 600系), a double decks shinkansen designed around this specific need (6 abreast unreserved seating, high capacity double decks cars etc). the six 12 car M formations (M1~M6) where delivered to JR East in 1994 and 1995.

By the mid 1990's JR East was once again in need for new equipment. With the opening of the first part of the Hokuriku shinkansen (which was known as the Nagano shinkansen in that time period) slated in 1997, and the different operational requirements posed by this line (25kv 50hz/ 25kv/60hz split, larger gradients) and with some of the 200系 formations/cars nearing the end of their 18~20 year service life (the G formations and the F30~F39 sub group) JR East began to work on a replacement of the venerable 200系, the result was the E2系0番台.

The E2系 was designed for service on both the Hokuriku and the Tōhoku/Jōetsu shinkansen, and was capable of running under both 25kv 50hz (Tōhoku/Jōetsu) and 25kv 60hz (part of the Hokuriku shinkansen), had enough power for the planned gradients (using a 6M 2T configuration for the 8 car formations) and could run at a maximum service speed of 275km/h (260km/h on the Hokuriku shinkansen, due to Seibi shinkansen limitations). The two prototype formations, S6 (Hokuriku) and S7 (Tōhoku), where delivered in 1995, with the first production formation (J2) delivered in December 1996. The E2系0番台 formations where split between 13 N formations (N1~N13) for the Hokuriku/Nagano shinkansen and 15 J formations (J1~J15) for the Tōhoku/Jōetsu shinkansen, the only difference between the two at that point in time being the ability to couple to another series (e.g. the E3系 R formations) for the J formations. The final production formation, J15, was delivered in December 1999.

With the success of the Yamagata shinkansen, and the corresponding increase in passengers carried, JR East decided to extend the 400系 L formations by adding a 7th car in 1995. During this period work continued on the conversion of sections of the Tawazako and Ōu main line (the section between Morioka and Akita) into the Akita (mini-)shinkansen which would open in 1997.

As the Akita shinkansen splits from the Tōhoku shinkansen at Morioka station, the formations intended for this service travel a lot further along dedicated shinkansen then the older Yamagata shinkansen (496 km vs 255 km), and as the 400系 was limited to a service speed of 240 km/h a new type was needed. The E3系, though the prototype still showed some 400系 inspired elements, was technically comparable to the E2系 it was designed to run in tandem with. The 5 car E3系 prototype formation, formation S8 (later R1) was delivered in 1995, and the first 5 car production formation (R formations, R2~R17) was delivered in October 1996 (incidentally before the first E2系 production formations where delivered) with the final formation of the initial batches (R17) delivered in late 1998, in the same period a 6th car was added to the earlier R formations.

With the opening of the Akita shinkansen, and increasing passenger numbers in this period, JR East decided to expand the number of 200系 K formations by reforming eleven 12 car F formations into eleven new K formations (K41~K51 sub group) with the remaining cars used to extend the original 8 car K formations (K1~K11) into the 10 car K21~K31 sub-group.

In 1999, with extension of the Yamagata shinkansen to Shinyō, two extra E3系 formations where delivered for Tsubasa services (L51 and L52 both with GTO-VVVF instalations) numbered into the E3系1000番台 A third and final formation was delivered in 2005 (L53) together with an extra order for E3系0番台 formations (R18~R26) delivered between 2002 and 2005. L53 and R18~R26 where all delivered with IGBT-VVVF installations.

Also in the mid 1990's, with passenger demand still increasing there was still a need within JR East for more high capacity shinkansen trains. With the E1系 no longer state of the art, and the need for a different format, the E4系 was born. While the E4系 took some elements from the E1系, and improved upon others, the E4系 improved upon the E1系 in a number of areas. For the traction installation an IGBT-VVVF installation was selected (the E4系 was actually the first shinkansen series to be fully equiped with an IGBT system, some of the E2系0番台 formations used an IGBT system as well), whereas the E1系 used the older GTO-VVVF system, and the body was constructed out of aluminium as opposed to steel on the E1系 (the E1系 was the final shinkansen series with a steel body). Also changed was the format, from 12 car formations to 8 car formations. the 8 car formations, alongside the addition of a nose coupler, gave JR East the ability to schedule a consolidated 16 car double decks shinkansen combination, as well as allowing combined use with the 400系 (a normal occurrence after combined running for 400系 and 200系 K formations seized in 2001), while solo use was/is still a regular occurrence as well. The first E4系 formation, P1, was delivered in October 1997 with the final P formation (P82, the E4系 was split in four groups: P1~P22, P51/52 and P81/82) delivered in 2003. The delivery of the P formations, in combination with the E2系 J formations, allowed JR East to retire the life expired 200系 G formations between 1997 and 1999.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's JR East saw itself faced with slowing growth (in it's shinkansen division) resulting in a more difficult financial situation. As a result the planned retirement of all remaining 200系 formations with new built E2系 formations by 2003, was changed a little. While the bulk of the class would still be scrapped in this period, 12 of the K formations (3 formations from the K21~K31 group (K21, K25 and K26) and 9 from the K41~K51 group (K41~K44, K46~K49 and K51)) where send through an extensive renewal program between 1999 and 2001. To replace the non renewal-ed 200系 formations, as well as providing new formations for the extension of the Tōhoku shinkansen to Hachinohe which opened in 2002. The new E2系 type would be designated as E2系1000番台, spotting a few changes from the original 0番台 cars (larger windows, improved IGBT-VVVF traction installation, 25kv 50hz capability only and single arm pantographs without pantograph covers). The first formation, formation J51 was delivered in 2001, with the production formations starting delivery in 2002. The production formations differed from the original by using 10 cars as opposed to 8, which was corrected in November 2002 when J51 received two extra cars to form a 10 car formation. In the same period the original J formations (J2~J15, J1 the prototype became formation N21) gained two extra cars creating 10 car formations similar to the new built formations (as well as a slightly altered color scheme based on the new J formations). The final J formation, formation J75 was delivered in September 2010. The delivery of the J51~J75 group of E2系 formations, allowed for the retirement of the remaining non renewal-ed 200系 formations between 2003 and 2004, with only K31 (kept in service as a replacement for renewal-ed formation K25 which was damaged during an earthquake related derailment in 2004) retired in 2006, and F19 (ATC-DS test train, later kept around for special/charter services) which was retired as final original 200系 formation in December 2007.

After the six E1系 where withdrawn from the Tōhoku shinkansen in December 1999, they where all transferred to the Jōetsu shinkansen. With the formations reaching their mid life point, all six of them went through renewal between 2003 and 2006, gaining a new livery in the process (based on the E2系 J formations).

With the 400系 formations, reaching the end of their planned service life by the end of the decade, JR East needed a replacement for this series. In 2008 October 2008 the first of an improved E3系 variant, the E3系2000番台 was delivered, sporting several improvements over the original E3系 formations. The final formation, L72, was delivered in March 2010, allowing for the retirement of the final 400系 formation.

At the end of the first decade of the 21th century, JR East wanted to increase the service speed on the Tōhoku shinkansen to 300/320 km/h. As non of the E2系 formations where capable of such speeds, a new series had to be designed. Replacement of the remaining 200系 and E1系 formations, both nearing the end of their service life played a large role as well. After successful tests with the FASTECH 360 test trains, the first E5系 prototype formation, formation S11, was delivered to JR East in 2009. delivery started in December 2010 with formation U2, and U2~U11 (some where delayed due to the Tōhoku earthquake) where delivered by the end of 2011, allowing for the retirement of the remaining 200系 K formations from the Tōhoku shinkansen with the winter 2011 timetable revision. As production increased, older E2系 J formations (J2~J15 group) and E4系 P formations where transferred to the Jōetsu shinkansen, allowing for the replacement of most of the remaining 200系 K formations and the entire E1系 fleet in 2012, the final E1系 formation, formation M4 being retired in September 2012.

In 2013 with enough E5系 formations delivered to push the remaining E2系 J2~J15 formation of the Tōhoku shinkansen, the final four 200系 K formations could be retired with the March 15th 2013 timetable revision.

As the original E3系 formations where nearing the end of their service life in the same period as well, the E6系 was developed, based around E5系 technology to replace the original formations, as well as allowing for the increase in speed on the Tōhoku shinkansen. The first prototype formation, S12, was delivered in 2011, and delivery of the production formations Z2~ commenced in 2012, allowing for the retirement of the final original E3系 formations in December of 2013.

While the E7系 is designed and built, both for the Hokuriku shinkansen extension, as well as the replacement of the life expired E2系 N formations (the last four N formations will be withdrawn at the end of this year).

and with this we've come full circle.

To explain things schematically, I created this simple diagram (doesn't include formations or sub-types) that may help explain if my text is not enough. (horizontal arrows indicate replaced by, while vertical arrows denote a transfer):

Tōhoku/Jōetsu shinkansen (lower section denotes to the Tōhoku shinkansen, the upper section to the Jōetsu):

|----------|

200系   E1系 ->E2系 <--------- E4系

^ ^ ^ ^

| | | |

200系 ->E1系/E2系 J formations/E4系->E5系

Yamagata/Akita shinkansen:

400系 -> E3系 -> E6系

Nagano/Hokuriku shinkansen:

E2系 -> E7系/W7系

The E2系 N formations are reaching the end of their 18 year service life. In fact of the fourteen formation, only four are left at this point (N5, N7, N10 and N13) the other ten where scrapped last year. The final four, will be retired by the end of this year.

And while the operational speed may be the same, you can be assured that a 2014 built E7系 is a more efficient train then a 1997 built E2系 (especially the one with a GTO propulsion package), propulsion technology has simply become a lot more efficient over the past decade.

While it's certainly true that a standardized equipment pool provides a lot of benefits, the advantage diminishes when a fleet reaches a certain size and economy of scale takes over.

This is especially apparent in the greater Tōkyō area, where for example the number of available  formations for the Yamanote line alone reaches 51 (formations 501~552. 520 has been transferred to the Chūō-Sōbu line), while the Chūō-Sōbu line also sports a fleet of 16 209系500番台 formations as well as 48 E231系 formations (the 900番台 prototype, forty-six 0番台 and a single 500番台). When a single line can support such a large fleet the disadvantages of owning several specialized sub-fleets diminish to the point that JR East is able to provide a tailored product, while still earning a significant profit.

This however is not necessarily just a JR East thing, after all J.N.R. started the Tōkyō area line specific formation idea in the first place.

Also JR East is the most profitable of all the JR companies, and if I'm not mistaken, the most profitable railway company in the world, so I'm sure they know how to run their own railroad.

A mix of line specific formations and generic 2/3/4 car formations tied to a few lines at once, depending on the maintenance center they are based at.

Yeah, except for the different traction motors, traction installation, trucks, AC units, door controls, driver controls and some interior differences they are more or less the same train...

One of the builders of J.N.R. stock, Tōkyū was just one of the many firms building J.N.R. stock as I'm sure you know.

Larger series like the E231系 and E233系 where still built among different manufacturers, among others Kawasaki Sharyō.

Same applies to the shinkansen, batches are split between different manufacturers (split between Kawasaki, Hitachi, Kinki Sharyō and J-TREC for the E7系/W7系).

The oldest two pre-production E217系 (as far as I know the E217系 was also built using the 209系 formula) formations has just reached 21 years of service this year, with the first production batches celebrating their 20th birthday this year as well. With JR East not showing any signs of retiring these formations just jet (the entire series was renewal-ed in 2012) they should have at least a year to a few years of service left. So perhaps we'll see if one literally falls apart in the next few years...

-Sander

Hi Sander 200系,

Wooowww.. I'm speechless.. :) Thanks so much for those detailed information.. You're such a Master of Japanese Railway History... Fantastic!

I really appreciate your effort to provide time to compile all the above info...

This is like a new wikipedia for me.. So much respect!! Cheers..

December 31, 2015

Hi guys,

Continuing the above posts, here are some other questions related with shinkansen.

First with E1 series, I ever heard that during the initial service, this train set was running as a 6 car set. Is that true? Cause AFAIK the consists were always 12 car set and they were built only in 6 formations or in total there were 72 cars being produced..

Second with E3 komachi "R" sets, according to Wikipedia:

"The E3 series sets are scheduled to be phased out following the introduction of new E6 series sets from March 2013, with 19 sets (114 vehicles) scheduled to be withdrawn during fiscal 2013.^[6]

From the start of the 15 March 2014 timetable revision, E3 series trainsets were no longer used on Akita Shinkansen Komachi services.^[7] Two sets remained in service, used on Yamabiko and Nasuno services"

Does it mean most of the E3 "R" sets were scrapped? Except the converted R18 set which currently runs as Toreiyu Tsubasa and the other two sets which run on Yamabiko and Nasuno services as mentioned by Wikipedia or the two were also already scrapped?

And what about the livery used by the two sets that runs on Yamabiko and Nasuno services, was it still on Komachi livery or repainted to Tsubasa livery?

Third with 300 series.

When was the last Nozomi service before being replaced by 700 series or N700? Not sure from the two of them which officially ended 300 series being the Nozomi.

Of course there was exception for the last run Nozomi 300 on 2012.. Appreciate if you could also inform the operational speed for each service, Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama..

Did F sets for JR West also run as Nozomi or only limited to Hikari and Kodama?

And when did the modification of single arm pantograph take place for J sets & F sets? I wonder that after received the new pantograph they were removed from Nozomi service..

I think that's all for now.. maybe I will have some more questions in the future.. sorry for too many questions.. :icon_cheese:

Many thanks in advance for your kind responses..

Cheers..

December 31, 2015

I really have to ask this question: With a number of E2's now approaching the end of their service lives (after all, a small number have already been retired and scrapped), what will JR East do to replace the earlier production E2's? I believe that JR East will keep the later production E2's on the shorter-range Tōhoku Shinkansen services like Nasuno and Yamabiko and on the Jōetsu Shinkansen services (especially as they replace the E4's), but will they eventually replace the E2's originally assigned to the Asama service with more E7's?

One thing I'm going to watch is will JR Central decide to raise the speed of Tokaidō Shinkansen service with the N700A (and N700's upgraded to N700A standards) to 300 km/h on certain stretches such as between Shizuoka and Toyohashi and between Kyoto and Maibara. After all. the upcoming Chūō Shinkansen maglev service between Tokyo (Shinagawa) and Nagoya won't start until 2027....

December 31, 2015

Does it mean most of the E3 "R" sets were scrapped?

The early batches of E3-0 series trains were scrapped because they already reached their expiration, as well as having themselves being replaced by E6, due to the fact that E3's maxspeed (275km/h) is not fast enough for today's standard (where Tohoku Shinkansen's maximum speed on section from Omiya to Shin-Aomori is 320km/h). But AFAIK later batches are still owned by Akita depot.

Along with the Toreiyu Tsubasa trainset (former AKi R18), one another AKi Rxx trainset (I usually referred these trains starting with the depot's code first, and followed by the trainset number) is currently being modified to become the "Genbi Shinkansen" trainset.

Regarding the livery, as I've remembered they're still running with the Komachi livery, because the Tsubasa livery (that carried by the E3-1000 and E3-2000) will be completely replaced by the new livery (I personally called the livery as "Yamagata Purple Livery", because the new livery is dominated with the purple color )

December 31, 2015

Robbert,

First with E1 series, I ever heard that during the initial service, this train set was running as a 6 car set. Is that true?

No. The six E1系 M formations where delivered as 12 car formations, and ran their entire life as 12 car formations.

The twelve 400系 L formations where lengthened from six to seven cars in 1995 though, so perhaps the confusion stems from this?

Does it mean most of the E3 "R" sets were scrapped? Except the converted R18 set which currently runs as Toreiyu Tsubasa and the other two sets which run on Yamabiko and Nasuno services as mentioned by Wikipedia or the two were also already scrapped?

The original, 1995~1998 built R formations (R1~R17, of which R1 was the original S* formations, or the E3系 prototype) where retired and scrapped between April 2013 and March 2014.

Of the 2002~2005 built R formations (R18~R26) R18 was modified to become the E3系700番台 Genbi Shinkansen set, R19~R22 where transferred to the Tōhoku Shinkansen while two cars each from formations R23 and R24 where combined with five cars each from formations R25 and R26, which after refurbishment became E3系1000番台 formations L54 and L55, which allowed for the retirement of the oldest two E3系1000番台 L formations, L51 and L52 both built in 1999, to be retired and scrapped in September 2014 (L51) and February 2015 (L52) respectively.

The last new built E3系1000番台 formations, L53 was kept in service as she's relatively new in comparison to her two older sisters (2005 built vs 1999), as well as having a more modern IGBT-VVVF propulsion system, as opposed to the older GTO-VVVF system used on L51 and L52 (as of today, JR East only has three shinkansen formations left with GTO inverters, J8, J11 and J13 of the E2系 J2~J15 subgroup, while JR West only has the eight 500系 V formations left, JR Tōkai has none left since the retirement of the 300系 in February 2012).

When was the last Nozomi service before being replaced by 700 series or N700?

The final scheduled 300系 Nozomi service was officially in 2001, after enough 700系 C formations where in service to take over the remaining services (together with the nine 500系 W formations).

They could still be found in sporadic Nozomi services until 2007 though, but this was somewhat rare.

Appreciate if you could also inform the operational speed for each service, Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama..

270km/h/270km/h and 270km/h (though scheduled speeds where/are often 10km/h less then max operational speed for anything but the fastest Nozomi and Hikari services), with exception of a few sections on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen where the speed is restricted to 255km/h due to the presence of 2500m radius curves.

Interestingly though, when the 300系 was retired from Nozomi services in 2001 and relegated to Hikari and Kodama services, they shared a few Hikari services with the 100系. On those services their scheduled speed was reduced to a maximum of 220km/h, same as the 100系. After the final 16 car 100系 formations where retired in September 2003, the operational speed was increased to 270km/h (260km/h in practice).

And when did the modification of single arm pantograph take place for J sets & F sets?

Originally, as you probably know, both J (J1~J58 -> built between 1992 and 1998) and F formations (F1~F9 built between 1992 and 1993) where delivered with three TPS203 type cross arm pantographs. As the presence of three pantographs resulted in oscillations of the overhead wires, starting in 1995 the centre pantographs where removed from existing formations, while new J formations delivered from that point onwards, where built without the centre pantograph.

The single arm pantograph (TPS301, same model as the 700系) was introduced with the final three 300系 J formations built, J59~J61 which were delivered in 1998.

Existing formations received their TPS301 and related pantograph deflectors in 1999.

Did F sets for JR West also run as Nozomi or only limited to Hikari and Kodama?

Yes they where originally used for Nozomi services as well, though their later life kind of mirrored the J formations (they did have a longer life span though, reaching a 19 year service life, compared to a max of 16 for the J formations).

but will they eventually replace the E2's originally assigned to the Asama service with more E7's?...

The large influx of E7系 F formations last year has already allowed for a significant reduction in E2系 N formations (the N formations where the only E2系 formations used on the Hokuriku shinkansen, though technically the J2~J15 formations could be used as well (N21 was actually former formation J1, which was transferred to the Hokuriku shinkansen in 2002) from mid 2014 onward. With even more E7系 formations arriving in 2015, JR East reduced the number of N formations even further, down to four in April this year (N5, N7, N10 and N13).

Those final four formations where retired from scheduled service on December 24th 2015, with N7 and N10 immediately forwarded for scrapping, while N5 and N13 are kept in reserve for a short while (those two will most likely be scrapped somewhere in 2016).

So yes E7系 and W7系 formations have replaced the E2系 N formations.

(after all, a small number have already been retired and scrapped)

Actually, quite a significant number have already been scrapped, or are in the process of being scrapped (16 formations have been scrapped as of today, twelve N formations and four J formations)

I believe that JR East will keep the later production E2's on the shorter-range Tōhoku Shinkansen services like Nasuno and Yamabiko and on the Jōetsu Shinkansen services

If I recall correctly, the E2系1000番台 formation, J51~J75 will be transferred to the Jōetsu shinkansen to replace both the remaining E2系 J2~J15 formations, as well as some of the E4系 P formations.

JR East was also planning to retire the remaining E2系 formations from the Tōhoku shinkansen at the end of 2015, though I'm not 100% if this timetable is still being kept.

sorry for too many questions.. :icon_cheese:

Don't worry, I hope this answers you're questions.

-Sander

Edited January 5, 2016 by 200系

December 31, 2015

So in this case, does this mean JR East will essentially completely phase out the Tokyo to Nagano only Asama service using the E2 N formations in favor of more Hakutaka service using exclusively E7/W7 trasinsets? Also, does this mean all the later production E2's will be completely transferred to Jōetsu Shinkansen Toki and Tanigawa services and the only Shinkansen trainsets on the Tōhoku line--including the shorter range Nasuno and Yamabiko services--will be newer-production E3, E5 and E6 trainets? I also wonder has there been consideration for eventually replacing the E3's on the Yamagata Shinkansen service in favor of the E6, unless the newer production E3's will be subject to the same long-life extension program some 200's underwent so they could operate well past 2020 because the Yamagata Shinkansen service doesn't need 320 km/h top speed given that they only run at full speed between Omiya and Fukushima.

January 4, 2016

Along with the Toreiyu Tsubasa trainset (former AKi R18), one another AKi Rxx trainset (I usually referred these trains starting with the depot's code first, and followed by the trainset number) is currently being modified to become the "Genbi Shinkansen" trainset.

Yes of course, I forgot to mention Genbi Shinkansen which is currently under modification process..

Regarding the livery, as I've remembered they're still running with the Komachi livery, because the Tsubasa livery (that carried by the E3-1000 and E3-2000) will be completely replaced by the new livery (I personally called the livery as "Yamagata Purple Livery", because the new livery is dominated with the purple color )

Okay thanks for this. so I assume that the livery for all the remaining E3 Yamagata Shinkansens (E3-1000 and E3-2000) has been or are now being repainted to Purple Livery? no more the older grey with green stripe ones left?

January 4, 2016

Many thanks 200系 - san for your detailed informations.. much appreciated.. :)

No. The six E1系 M formations where delivered as 12 car formations, and ran their entire life as 12 car formations.

The twelve 400系 L formations where lengthened from six to seven cars in 1995 though, so perhaps the confusion stems from this?

Thanks for the clarification. So there was no six car set for E1 series.. I forgot where I got the source but pretty sure I was mixed up with other numbers such as the above information of 400series.. :)

The original, 1985~1998 built R formations (R1~R17, of which R1 was the original S* formations, or the E3系 prototype) where retired and scrapped between April 2013 and March 2014.
Of the 2002~2005 built R formations (R18~R26) R18 was modified to become the E3系700番台 Genbi Shinkansen set, R19~R22 where transferred to the Tōhoku Shinkansen while two cars each from formations R23 and R24 where combined with five cars each from formations R25 and R26, which after refurbishment became E3系1000番台 formations L54 and L55, which allowed for the retirement of the oldest two E3系1000番台 L formations, L51 and L52 both built in 1999, to be retired and scrapped in September 2014 (L51) and February 2015 (L52) respectively.

The last new built E3系1000番台 formations, L53 was kept in service as she's relatively new in comparison to her two older sisters (2005 built vs 1999), as well as having a more modern IGBT-VVVF propulsion system, as opposed to the older GTO-VVVF system used on L51 and L52 (as of today, JR East only has three shinkansen formations left with GTO inverters, J8, J11 and J13 of the E2系 J2~J15 subgroup, while JR West only has the eight 500系 V formations left, JR Tōkai has none left since the retirement of the 300系 in February 2012).

With the above explanation, I am a bit confused.

But I tried to assume that the remaining R sets are as follows:

1. R18 converted as Toreiyu Tsubasa

2. R19 will be converted as Genbi Shinkansen

3. The combinations of R23, R24, R25 and R26 which were converted into L54 and L55 as E3-1000

4. Two E3 R sets (what formations?) running on Nasuno and Yamabiko service, but I am very sure these had been retired as per current timetable.

is it correct? So, basically there were no more original R sets in service now..

And further to my questions about livery, given the above information from you, so the two R sets running in Yamabiko and Nasuno are the same sets with the converted L54 and L55 and running in grey and green stripe? not Komachi livery? Sorry I don't have detailed reference about E3 livery system and its covered service areas..

Originally, as you probably know, both J (J1~J58 -> built between 1992 and 1998) and F formations (F1~F9 built between 1992 and 1993) where delivered with three TPS203 type cross arm pantographs. As the presence of three pantographs resulted in oscillations of the overhead wires, starting in 1995 the centre pantographs where removed from existing formations, while new J formations delivered from that point onwards, where built without the centre pantograph.

The single arm pantograph (TPS301, same model as the 700系) was introduced with the final three 300系 J formations built, J59~J61 which were delivered in 1998.

Existing formations received their TPS301 and related pantograph deflectors in 1999.

Yes they where originally used for Nozomi services as well, though their later life kind of mirrored the J formations (they did have a longer life span though, reaching a 19 year service life, compared to a max of 16 for the J formations).

Well I believe the F sets had longer life span mostly because JR West didn't produce bigger number of 300 series, only 9 formations compared to 61 formations of JR Central. That's why they were allowed to operate the F sets longer..

Additional question, are there any other differences between J sets and F sets besides the color of Pantograph Side Protector Cover (grey on J sets against white on F sets) and the color of JR companies logo (orange on J sets against blue on F sets)?

If I recall correctly, the E2系1000番台 formation, J51~J75 will be transferred to the Jōetsu shinkansen to replace both the remaining E2系 J2~J15 formations, as well as some of the E4系 P formations.
JR East was also planning to retire the remaining E2系 formations from the Tōhoku shinkansen at the end of 2015, though I'm not 100% if this timetable is still being kept.

With the above situation, if finally all E2系1000 are retired, so they will only be replaced by E5 series including in Joetsu? as all the E2 on Hokuriku service were replaced by E7series..

January 4, 2016

Okay thanks for this. so I assume that the livery for all the remaining E3 Yamagata Shinkansens (E3-1000 and E3-2000) has been or are now being repainted to Purple Livery? no more the older grey with green stripe ones left?

Well, we can say "yes" for this one. E3-1000 (KaTa L53 - L55) and E3-2000 (KaTa L61 - KaTa L72) are currently being repainted to "Yamagata Purple" livery, where the repainting process of the whole fleet will be completed by this year.

Additional note: KaTa L54 and L55 are modified from AKi R23 to R26, which L54 uses cars from R24 and R25, while L55 uses cars from R23 and R26

Key:

KaTa = Yamagata Rolling Stock Center

AKi = Akita Rolling Stock Center

January 5, 2016

I think right now the later production E3's will likely continue in service until at least 2022, since they only need full speed running between Omiya and Fukushima on the Tsubasa service. As such, an upgrade to the faster E6 trainset would not be worth it, unlike the E6 trainsets that run at full speed between Omiya and Morioka on the Komachi service.

January 5, 2016

I think right now the later production E3's will likely continue in service until at least 2022, since they only need full speed running between Omiya and Fukushima on the Tsubasa service. As such, an upgrade to the faster E6 trainset would not be worth it, unlike the E6 trainsets that run at full speed between Omiya and Morioka on the Komachi service.

And the 275km/h speed is already enough for Tsubasa services, as the distance between Omiya and Fukushima is the half of section between Omiya and Morioka (the oldest portion of Tohoku Shinkansen), which means that later-built E3 trains are having slightly longer lifespan (though of course their real lifespan is actually as short as the first production batches)...

January 5, 2016

Well, we can say "yes" for this one. E3-1000 (KaTa L53 - L55) and E3-2000 (KaTa L61 - KaTa L72) are currently being repainted to "Yamagata Purple" livery, where the repainting process of the whole fleet will be completed by this year.

I see. Thanks for the information on the E3 Livery

I think right now the later production E3's will likely continue in service until at least 2022, since they only need full speed running between Omiya and Fukushima on the Tsubasa service. As such, an upgrade to the faster E6 trainset would not be worth it, unlike the E6 trainsets that run at full speed between Omiya and Morioka on the Komachi service.

Yeah I think so if we use approx. 15years of lifespan for JR East trains, the delivery for E3-1000 L53 set was on 2005 and for E3-2000 L sets around 2008-2010 so they should be remaining on service for some more years to come.. even the E3-1000 L54 & L55 were delivered on 2014-2015. But of course for me it's interesting to wait for the replacement of E2 series and see the new train coupled with E3..

Or I suspect, JR East planned to use the E7 series for Tohoku and Joetsu services too? since there was coupler test performed for E7... will not be surprised if E7 is coupled with E3 in the future considering their similar operational speed...

January 5, 2016

Or I suspect, JR East planned to use the E7 series for Tohoku and Joetsu services too? since there was coupler test performed for E7... will not be surprised if E7 is coupled with E3 in the future considering their similar operational speed...

I don't know whether JR East would use the E7 on Tohoku and Joetsu services, but it is likely that E7 would be limited to the Hokuriku services for now...

January 7, 2016

I think due to the 260 km/h top speed of the E7/W7 trainset (limited by the nose design--otherwise, the nose of the E7/W7 would look very much like hte nose of the E2 with the 275 km/h top speed), the E7 and W7 will likely be limited to the Hokuriku Shinkansen for now and may eventually replace the E2 on the Jōetsu Shinkansen, since the Jōetsu line is currently limited to 240 km/h but could be raised to 260 km/h once the E4's retire later this year.

January 28, 2016

I have another question about shinkansen emergency stop... in case of disaster early warning system, if the train is running at top speed of 300km/h, how many seconds or minutes does it need to fully stop since the alert is received?

October 15, 2016

Hi,

I know that this reply to you is probably a bit late ! but i have recently taken a Great interest in the fantastic design of the Shinkansen 300 series.

I cannot believe the that they would scrap one of the only two remaining !!

Has this already happened ? or is it too late to save it ?

Would you know of any preserved Nose Cones which are available or any other parts from any other of loco's which could be for sale ?

Any information or help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Daryl.

( Sweep )

Let's Talk Shinkansen!

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