E7 / W7 Shinkansen unveiled!!!!

[Nozomi]

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=de&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.ch&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://railf.jp/news/2012/09/05/160000.html&usg=ALkJrhhuTRdwBKlRCk0LR-YpugdkT1GQ0Q

 

Well East meets West...

[Davo Dentetsu]

Looks amazingly sensible.  Like it a lot.

[200系]

good to see the experimental E954形 contributed somewhat more to JR East then just the E5系/E6系, the windscreen and nose section seems to be a blend of the E954形 and 500系.

 

It's also nice to see JR East return to 12 car formations, after almost 2 decades of 10/8 car formations (the E1系 was the last 12 car formation build for JR East (and pretty much any of the JR companies)).

 

As far as the appearance is concerned, I have to say, from what I can see in the concept art, I think it looks very good for a modern shinkansen (N700系 and later). It certainly looks better then I imagined it to be (E5系 based nose section, as opposed to a new design like this), and it's certainly good (for as far as I can see) that the E7系 seems to be a return to the shorter nose sections, as opposed to the trend of nose sections becoming a larger and larger part of the first car. In my opinion though, I think the design looks a bit too flashy for my taste, I usually prefer somewhat more modest/subtle looking designs (for the same reason I don't really like the 800系), but then again that's just my opinion based on the concept art, I'd reserve judgement for the moment the real deal is rolled out.

 

One thing I'm wondering though, how about the service speed? will it be 275km/h like the current E2系 or will they bring it in line with the E5系 (judging from the nose design it'll be 275km/h or lower, but I might have missed something) as the article/press release doesn't mention anything about the speed.

 

ps, here's the working link (same article as above):

http://railf.jp/news/2012/09/05/160000.html

[Densha]

Not liking the colors/look here, totally not. Compare a luxury car to a race car, that's how I compare the design of the E7 vs E5/E6. I don't really like the E6 either but that's another story.

[JR 500系]

Wow!

 

Looks like a re-painting of the E6, with some crossing over from 800 Tsubame's body and red strip livery and 500's blue cockpit section...

 

HHHmmm.. Mixed feelings about this... Will have to see the real thing to judge more perhaps?

[Densha]

@JR500

Exactly how I think about it.

 

Btw, just stupid I didn't realized earlier until they came with the "W", but I assume the "E" stands for JR East and the new "W" for JR West? JR Central still uses "N" for some reason...

[The_Ghan]

So far, the only images available are "artist's impressions".

 

Generally, I thought it looked like a 500/800 hybrid too.  I didn't see much E5 or E6 in the design.

 

Also, given the amount of research that went into the "duck bill" designs, I'd be surprised if we didn't see something that looks much more like the E5 and E6 emerge from the drawing boards in the not too distant future.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

looks awesome

 

i'd run for govt in austalia so i could use 50bn of tax payer $$ to buy some and a line 

 

hope it uses that livery

[keitaro]

maximum speed of 260 km/h ??

110km/h at some distance too!

http://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2012/20120903.pdf

[200系]

Btw' date=' just stupid I didn't realized earlier until they came with the "W", but I assume the "E" stands for JR East and the new "W" for JR West? JR Central still uses "N" for some reason...[/quote']

 

JR Tōkai doesn't use the N prefix for it's shinkansen, the 'N' in N700系 stands for 'New' as in 'New 700 Series' (as it is a further development of the 700系 concept) and is the same for both the Tōkai formations, and those owned by JR West (both the 700系 and the N700系 where developed jointly by Tōkai and West).

 

Also' date=' given the amount of research that went into the "duck bill" designs....[/quote']

 

If you look careful at the nose (right next to the headlights), you can see a hint of a duckbill design (the nose, headlights and windscreen are all much more narrow then the general cross section, hinting at a slight duck bill). It's subtle, just like with the E2系 but it seems to be there none the less.

 

I'd be surprised if we didn't see something that looks much more like the E5 and E6 emerge from the drawing boards in the not too distant future.

 

I would be. While there might be last minute adjustments and/or tweaks in the design, this does look quite final to me. Quite a few details seem to be worked out already (Shape and design of the pilot, drivers cab/windscreen, head light position and shape, cross section etc) for it to be a mere concept drawing. I might be wrong of course but I just don't see such a radical change happening.

 

Besides, if you look closely, there is quite a bit of E5系/E6系 in the design, the passenger windows, doors and general cross section all show similarities with the mentioned series.

[bikkuri bahn]

110km/h at some distance too!

 

Tokyo-Omiya is restricted to that speed due to agreements with residents living adjacent to the line.

 

press release pdf, shows train formation (all motored except driving trailers, i.e. 10M2T) and also a color side view of the rolling stock (appendix pp.1&2):

http://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2012/20120903.pdf

[Densha]

maximum speed of 260 km/h ??

110km/h at some distance too!

http://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2012/20120903.pdf

Oh, nice link. Higher resolution images and a lot of info.

 

Loosely translated using Google translate, some random facts:

• The E7/W7 is meant for the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
  
• It's 12 cars long.
  
• Speed: (which seems slow compared to other Shinkansen)
  110km / h: from Tokyo to Omiya
  240km / h: Takasaki-Omiya
  260km / h: Kanazawa - Takasaki
  
• It seems there is a standard class, green car, and (new?) "grand class" (which has even better suspension!).
  
• Will be introduced in the Fall of 2013 by JR East and Spring 2014 by JR West (I assume because the line will be extended by then).
  
• The trains on the Hokuriku Shinkansen will be "E7 series (JR East)、W7 series (JR West), E2 series (Asama)".
  

[cteno4]

I think the design on these has gotten to a point where the physical requirements drive so much of the design to just match the requirements. i think there is less and less ability to set the overall form by design aesthetics, best you can do is to go over the optimized design for the physical requirements and clean them up some. not to say this is not a good thing to do and can really make any design more palatable if done well!

 

interesting to see the little canard wings out there, wonder if they are tunnel bow shock dispersers an thats why less of a duckbill. or maybe lower speed hitting tunnels does not require as much of a duck bill. im sure there will be other ways figured out to handle this.

 

jeff

[ToniBabelony]

I saw it on Wikipedia today as well. Nice looking design. A lot better than that boring N700 look. I'm really looking forward to this one! :)

[miyakoji]

While there might be last minute adjustments and/or tweaks in the design, this does look quite final to me.

 

Agreed.  As Densha points out, it's to be introduced in about a year, I'd guess that the rolling stock manufacturers are already tooling up to build this, based on a finalized design.

[Sacto1985]

Wow!

 

Looks like a re-painting of the E6, with some crossing over from 800 Tsubame's body and red strip livery and 500's blue cockpit section...

 

I saw it on the English Wikipedia and it really looks like a cross between an E5/E6 Series used on the Tohoku Shinkansen lines and the 800 Series used on the Tsubame service between Hakata and Kagoshima-Chuō stations on the Kyushu Shinkansen line. What I find even more interesting was the decision to include the Gran Class car just like the E5 Series trainset--the Gran Class must have proved to be very popular on the Hayabusa train. It should be noted that they sacrificed some top speed (260 km/h instead of 320 km/h on the E5 trainset) in order to keep up speed for the train climbing grades between Takasaki and Jōetsu stations.

 

By the way, I think the E7 trainsets will likely enter service by early 2014 on the Nagano Shinkansen line to slowly replace the E2 Series trainsets, then as the initial Hokuriku Shinkansen line from Nagano to Kanazawa is opened, the E7's will completely replace the E2's.

[Densha]

By the way, I think the E7 trainsets will likely enter service by early 2014 on the Nagano Shinkansen line to slowly replace the E2 Series trainsets, then as the initial Hokuriku Shinkansen line from Nagano to Kanazawa is opened, the E7's will completely replace the E2's.

Some time ago we had a discussion about this in a topic if I'm right and if I remember correctly the newer E2 sets (subseries?) will stay in service for the shorter distances (to the current terminus) while the E7 will be doing the longer distances.

[The_Ghan]

Perhaps the design will grow on me, but I'm not wed to the blue-salmon exterior, the 500 series cockpit, or the blue carpet and seating in green class.

 

The departure from the duckbill in my opinion weakens the arguement for the duckbill design in the first place.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[cteno4]

The departure from the duckbill in my opinion weakens the arguement for the duckbill design in the first place.

 

i doubt that, a lot of work went into those designs with aerodynamic modeling. this train is lower speed as well. i think its just a different set of requirements at work here.

 

jeff

[Guest Closed Account 1]

Im glad to see that the E7 isn't just an E6 painted red. Totally new design.

 

The exterior colors might change before release.

 

If the train industry is anything like the automotive industry then there may have been a survey to determine interior and exterior colors. I remember from Saturn that women tend to prefer softer cooler colors.

[Densha]

If the train industry is anything like the automotive industry then there may have been a survey to determine interior and exterior colors. I remember from Saturn that women tend to prefer softer cooler colors.

Maybe they're trying to attract more women to the Shinkansen?

But seriously, here in the Netherlands most of the times a prototype is made so people can try different seats and interiors and sometimes colors. They higher-ups don't always listen to the results but most times they do. This is done with almost all trams and metros, but trains only sometimes.

[The_Ghan]

The departure from the duckbill in my opinion weakens the arguement for the duckbill design in the first place.

 

i doubt that, a lot of work went into those designs with aerodynamic modeling. this train is lower speed as well. i think its just a different set of requirements at work here.

 

jeff

cteno4,

 

I thought the duckbill design was about acoustics rather than aerodynamics. 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[cteno4]

both, its all aerodynamics of how the air flows around the train as it enters the tunnel. basically done to more smoothly move the air out as the nose enters the tunnel so the air does not compress as it enters the tunnel and causing the booming. to a lesser extent when it leaves the tunnel as well. also a bit of efficiency out in the air as well. duckbill was the combo of the two to get the best of both. started with the 500 kingfisher (ie off center arrow point) nose then they went into heavy computer modeling to try to reduce boom more at higher speeds while keeping best efficiency cutting through the air at the same time.

 

jeff

[bikkuri bahn]

Distribution of E7 trainsets as follows:

JR East: 17 trainsets, 204 cars

JR West: 10 trainsets, 120 cars (W7)

 

E2 trainsets will continue on Tokyo-Nagano services.

 

-From the Mainichi News, Sept. 4

[Sacto1985]

E2 trainsets will continue on Tokyo-Nagano services.

 

-From the Mainichi News, Sept. 4

 

Does that mean the E2 trainsets will be demoted to essentially "all stops" service between Tokyo and Nagano?