Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, April 2002
The 500 Series Shinkansen are the fastest, most powerful and most expensive Japan's Shinkansen high_speed rail network. They are designed to be capable of 320 km/h (200 mph) although they currently operate at a maximum of 300 km/h (186 mph) in service. The running gear utilises computer_controlled active suspension for a smoother, safer ride. All sixteen cars in each train are powered, giving a maximum of 18.24 MW of power (25,000 hp). Each train costs an estimated ¥5 billion, or over US$40 million; because of that pricetag, only nine have been built.
The first entered service in 1995 and the last of the nine in 1998. They are used only on the premium Nozomi services.
Visually they are quite striking, with a long, pointed needle nose more like that of a supersonic plane than a conventional high speed train.
The 0(zero)-Series (0ç³») Shinkansen were the first trainsets built to run on Japan's new high speed rail network, and are therefore still the image of the Shinkansen in the minds of most non-Japanese because of all the publicity they received when the first Shinkansen line began operation in 1964.
The 100 Series (100ç³») Shinkansen were the second generation Shinkansen design, produced between 1984 and 1991 for the Tokaido-Shinkansen and Sanyo- Shinkansen lines; the earliest units have now been withdrawn from service, and the series has been retired from the Tokaido Shinkansen line in September 2003.
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