Sayonara Shinkansen 0 Series

[bill937ca]

Sunday is the last day of 0 Series Shinkansen Kodama services on the Sanyo Shinkansen line.

 

 

[Bernard]

Bill -  Two questions, was the O series originally made in 1964? And what is replacing them? (I thought I saw a shot of an N700?)

[bill937ca]

Bill -  Two questions, was the O series originally made in 1964? And what is replacing them? (I thought I saw a shot of an N700?)

 

I understand those are the original train sets from 1964. I'm not really up on Shinkansen assignments, so I can't answer the other question.

[SubwayHypes]

What??  Where do they still run these?  I have taken a shinkansen from TOkyo station to random places almost every year from 89-04, i dont remember in any recent trips even seeing the old 0 series running in tokyo, these are the two types that i see a majority of. 

[bill937ca]

What??  Where do they still run these?   I have taken a shinkansen from TOkyo station to random places almost every year from 89-04, i dont remember in any recent trips even seeing the old 0 series running in tokyo, these are the two types that i see a majority of. 

 

 

The Sanyo Shinkansen line runs from Shin Osaka to Harkata. These are special Sayonara runs in addition to the regular schedule.

 

http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~dajf/byunbyun/graphics/routemap.gif

[bill937ca]

Videographer's note: The final Kodama service operated by a 0-series Shinkansen leaves Higashi-Hiroshima Station.

 

[stevenh]

And what is replacing them? (I thought I saw a shot of an N700?)

 

Ok, so you have the three levels of service (We'll talk the standard Sanyo line, as you also get the Hikari Railstar,etc...), back in 2006/2007:

 

-Nozomi :: operated by Series: 700 :: Minimal Stops.

-Hikari :: operated by Series: 300 :: Limited stops.

-Kodama :: operated by Series: 0/100 :: ALL STOPS.

 

What happens now is that with the introduction of the N700, the previous 'new models' are shunted down a priority in the service levels.

So now:

 

-Nozomi :: operated by Series: N700/700 :: Minimal Stops.

-Hikari :: operated by Series: 700/300 :: Limited stops.

-Kodama :: operated by Series: 100 :: ALL STOPS.

 

So 0 Series falls off the radar... and now they're using my FAVOURITE 300 Series for the Kodama!  :o :o :o

 

What this then means is for us Rail-Pass Tourists... we get the 700 series in the Hikari class :D

Not that I like them, nor can they run faster... as they'd have to shift all the timetabling.

 

Hope that makes sense :)

[Martijn Meerts]

Might not be on the Sanyo line, but doesn't the 300 and 500 run as Nozomi service as well, or at least, used to?

[stevenh]

The 500 series runs as a Nozomi at very specific times... usually around 7am and then 5pm? I remember seeing it only during peak times.

The 300 hasn't been a Nozomi for quite some time and now will only be as high as a Hikari (sad).

 

There is also the Hikari Railstar that runs as frequently as the Nozomi from ShinOsaka to Hakata.

[bill937ca]

Might not be on the Sanyo line, but doesn't the 300 and 500 run as Nozomi service as well, or at least, used to?

 

 

 

The 500 series are being down graded to Sanyo Shinkansen Kodama service (and are in fact the replacements for the Series 0 sets).  Five of the nine sets was shortened to eight cars with the discarded cars being scrapped. The 500 series are slated to begin Sanyo Kodama service in December 2008.  It looks like this started December 1, according to the JR document, which would be right now in Japan.

 

http://www.westjr.co.jp/ICSFiles/afieldfile/2008/10/17/20081017_fuyurin.pdf  Japanese language

[Martijn Meerts]

I really need to compile all this stuff at some point and put it on my homepage =)

[stevenh]

I would've never thought they'd do that!

Were the 500 Series an experimental model? I thought they were faster than the 700 Series...

From wikipedia:

The 500 Series Shinkansen are the fastest, most powerful and most expensive trainsets yet to run on Japan's Shinkansen high-speed rail network....

 

Each train costs an estimated ¥5 billion....

 

With the steady increase in the number of N700 Series Shinkansen assigned to Nozomi services, the 500 series fleet was limited to just two return workings between Tokyo and Hakata from the start of the 15 March 2008 timetable. Five of the nine sets will be shortened to 8 cars during 2008 and cascaded to Sanyo Shinkansen Kodama workings, replacing the earlier 0 series sets. The first reformed 8-car set was unveiled to the press on 28 March 2008. All passenger saloons have been made no-smoking, with new smoking compartments installed....

 

So it's entirely true... they go as fast as the N700/700 (as they're all limited to 300km/h westbound and 270km/h eastbound) but were never built en-masse and therefore will be subjected to the Kodama... it's nearly sad... but makes me happy as the 300 will be around a lot longer  ;D

[Martijn Meerts]

Their top speed is the same as the 700/N700, but I think the 500 still holds the Japanese record for fastest train counting average speed from start to end destination.

 

I knew there were only a few of them because they were so terribly expensive to build, but I hadn't really expected them to be demoting them. They are a rare sight already, and now they'll be even more rare, even though the thing is almost a tourist attraction by itself. I mean, design wise it still looks FAR ahead of its time and any of its competition.

[Guest ___]

Their top speed is the same as the 700/N700, but I think the 500 still holds the Japanese record for fastest train counting average speed from start to end destination.

 

I knew there were only a few of them because they were so terribly expensive to build, but I hadn't really expected them to be demoting them. They are a rare sight already, and now they'll be even more rare, even though the thing is almost a tourist attraction by itself. I mean, design wise it still looks FAR ahead of its time and any of its competition.

 

I saw only one 500 in 6 days of fanning around Tokyo. On a side note a lot of the engineering and design work on the 500's came from Germany with a lot of the sub-components coming from Germany as well, so they are not pure breds either.  They are more mutt than anything else in the fleet. A buddy of mine who works for JR West as a motorman tells me that the maintenance staff hates serving them.

[bill937ca]

See what you missed!!!    :o  Bedlam!!!!

 

 

[bill937ca]

And everybody on the platform would have to buy a ticket  (and a camera it looks like) for these commemorative runs.  No wonder Japan's economy is strong!

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Now we just need to wait for MicroAce to announce the commemorative "sayonara 0-series" model ;)

[alpineaustralia]

I think the crowds are a testamony to the love and respect that the Japanese have for their trains and frankly, so they should. The 1964 shinkansen runs faster and more reliably than any passenger train Australia has some 44 years later!

 

Quote from the Central Japan Railway Company website (http://english.jr-central.co.jp/news/n20040408/index.html)

 

"Tokaido Shinkansen Sets an Outstanding Record

 

- An Average Delay of 0.1 Minutes per Train for FY2003 - April 8, 2004

 

Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central)

 

JR Central is proud to announce a glorious achievement of the Tokaido Shinkansen, - the average* delay of 0.1 minutes per train throughout the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004 -. In the JNR (Japanese National Railways) days, the average delay for the period from FY1972 to FY1986 was 3.1 minutes per train. As mentioned below, the remarkable reduction in average delay compared to the JNR era is a result of continuous efforts after the establishment of JR Central in 1987.

 

Note: *Average of all late departures and arrivals of one minute or more from/to Tokyo and Shin-Osaka stations, including delays caused by natural disasters such as heavy rain, typhoons, and heavy snowfall "