700 Series Shinkansen

700 series
700 series train between Kakegawa and Shizuoka, January 2008
In service	1999–Present
Manufacturer	Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kinki Sharyo, Nippon Sharyo
Replaced	0 series, 100 series, 300 series
Constructed	1997–2006
Number built	1,328 vehicles (91 sets)
Number in service	1,312 vehicles (90 sets)
Number scrapped	16 vehicles (1 set, C4)
Formation	16 cars per trainset (8 cars for Hikari Rail Star)
Capacity	16-car sets: 1,323 (200 Green + 1,123 Standard) 8-car sets: 571
Operators	JR Central, JR West
Depots	Tokyo, Osaka, Hakata
Lines served	Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Sanyō Shinkansen, Hakata-Minami Line
Specifications
Car body construction	Aluminium
Car length	25,000 mm (984.25 in) (intermediate cars), 27,350 mm (1,076.77 in) (end cars)
Width	3,380 mm (133.07 in)
Height	3,690 mm (145.28 in)
Doors	2 per side
Maximum speed	270 km/h (168 mph) (Tōkaidō), 285 km/h (177 mph) (Sanyō)
Traction system	48 x 275 kW (369 hp) (16-car set), 24 x 275 kW (369 hp) (8-car set)
Power output	13.2 MW (17,700 hp) (16-car set), 6.6 MW (8,900 hp) (8-car set)
Acceleration	2.0 km/h/s
Deceleration	2.7 km/h/s
Electric system(s)	25 kV AC, 60 Hz overhead catenary
Current collector(s)	Pantograph
Safety system(s)	ATC-1, ATC-NS
Track gauge	1435

The 700 series (700系) is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built between 1997 and 2006, and entering service in 1999. Originally designated as "N300", they formed the next generation of shinkansen vehicles jointly designed by JR Central and JR West for use on both Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen lines.

Design

The 700 series is characterized by its flat 'duck-bill' nose designed to reduce the piston effect as the trains enter tunnels. 16-car units are painted white with blue stripes beneath the windows, and are used for Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama services on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen lines, while 8-car units used for the Sanyō Shinkansen Hikari Rail Star services have a darker livery (grey with black window areas and a yellow stripe beneath the windows) which also acts to visually deemphasize the units' nose area, resulting in a more streamlined impression.

As with the 500 series trains, yaw dampers are fitted between vehicles, and all cars feature semi-active suspension to ensure smooth ride characteristics even at high speed. Compared with the small fleet of high-performance, high-cost 500 series trains built for JR West, these trains were designed to give improved ride comfort and interior ambience over the earlier 300 series trains at a lower cost than the 500 series trains. The cost of a 16-car 700 series unit is approximately 4 billion yen compared with around 5 billion yen for a 16-car 500 series train.

Variants

Pre-production unit (700-9000 series)

The pre-production set, C0, was delivered in October 1997, and underwent endurance running mainly between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka until early 1999, including a short period of testing as an 8-car formation on the Sanyō Shinkansen. New single-arm current collectors were fitted from the start, and these initially featured the distinctive "wine-glass" pantograph shrouds of the 300X train. These were later changed to a design resembling the 500 series arrangement with additional side fences, which was used on the subsequent production trains. Unit C0 was modified to full production standard in September 1999 and renumbered as C1.

16-car C sets

700 series logo next to door

These units were ordered by JR Central for use on Tokyo to Hakata Nozomi services, displacing the 300 series trains previously used on these services. Interior layout and accommodation is similar to that of the 300 series trains, with three Green class vehicles, and the same 1,040 mm seat pitch in standard class, and 1,160 mm in Green class. The central gangways were widened by 30 mm to 600 mm, and ceilings were raised by 65 mm to 2,200 mm. The refreshment counters of the 300 and 500 series trains were discontinued and replaced by vending machines selling drinks, located in cars 3, 7, 11, and 15.

Specifications permit 285 km/h running on the Sanyō Shinkansen with speed restricted to 270 km/h on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. The initial batch ordered by JR Central consisted of 17 units, with the first 4 units delivered in time for introduction on three daily return Nozomi services from March 1999. Services featuring 700 series stock were increased to five daily from July 1999, and further increased from October 1999. With continuing deliveries, 700 series trains were also introduced on Tōkaidō Shinkansen Hikari services from late 2000.

Set numbers C25 onwards introduced from May 2001 incorporate minor interior design improvements, including power outlets at the ends of cars for PC users, and hand-grabs on the edge of aisle seats. An order for an additional batch of six units was placed by JR Central in December 2003, with delivery scheduled for the end of 2004. These sets (C55 to C60) provided additional capacity for services connected with the Aichi Expo in 2005.

Streamlined bogie covers and flush diaphragm covers added experimentally to set C46, February 2003

Before entering passenger service, JR Central set C46 was used on a series of test runs from late January 2003 fitted with streamlined bogie covers on all cars and flush diaphragm covers between cars 16/15 and 15/14. These modifications were removed before the unit entered revenue service.

Between October 2008 and June 2009, JR Central's fleet of 60 700 series sets underwent modifications to increase the acceleration from the original 1.6 km/h/s to 2.0 km/h/s on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen to improve timetable planning flexibility.

During fiscal 2011, nine JR Central "C" sets are scheduled to be transferred to JR West to replace its fleet of nine 300 series sets scheduled to be withdrawn by spring 2012.

Formation

The 16-car C sets are formed as follows.

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Designation	Tc	M2	M'w	M1	M1w	M'	M2k	T's	Ts	M2s	M'h	M1	M1w	M'	M2w	T'c
Numbering	723	727	726-500	725	725-300	726	727-400	718	719	717	726-700	725-600	725-500	726-200	727-500	724
Seating capacity	65	100	85	100	90	100	75	68	64	68	63	100	90	100	80	75

Cars 5 and 12 each have one single-arm pantograph.

Interior

• 
  Green-class car (car 9), March 2010
• 
  Standard-class car (car 13), January 2010

16-car B sets (700-3000 series)

JR West 700-3000 series set B9, March 2010

These are the units owned by JR West for use on through Hikari services from Tokyo, displacing the 100 series stock previously used on these services. A total of 15 units were delivered from June 2001 to 2005. These trains use the same bogies as the JR West 500 series sets. Other differences include LED destination indicator panels, white pantograph side fences, "JR 700" logos on the cab sides, and also different seat designs.

Formation

The 16-car B sets are formed as follows.

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Designation	Tc	M2	M'w	M1	M1w	M'	M2k	T's	Ts	M2s	M'h	M1	M1w	M'	M2w	T'c
Numbering	723-3000	727-3000	726-3500	725-3000	725-3300	726-3000	727-3400	718-3000	719-3000	717-3000	726-3700	725-3600	725-3500	726-3200	727-3500	724-3000
Seating capacity	65	100	85	100	90	100	75	68	64	68	63	100	90	100	80	75

Cars 5 and 12 each have one single-arm pantograph.

Interior

• 
  JR West standard class seating
• 
  JR West Green class seating

8-car E sets (700-7000 series)

Hikari Rail Star trainset, April 2009

8-car E units were introduced by JR West for use on new limited-stop Sanyō Shinkansen Hikari Rail Star services between Shin-Osaka and Hakata from 11 March 2000, replacing the former 0 series West Hikari services. The first units were delivered at the beginning of December 1999, with a total of 16 units built. Externally, these units differ noticeably from their JR Central sisters in having a variation of the 500 series livery with the blue waistline band replaced by a band of "sunny yellow". "Rail Star" logos are applied to the sides of alternate cars as well as on the cab sides. Each 8-car train has two single-arm pantographs of a similar design to the JR Central 16-car sets. It was originally planned that sets would be able to operate coupled together, enabling 16-car formations to be run in busy periods, but this feature has never been utilized.

Formation

The 8-car E sets are formed as follows.

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Designation	Tc	M1	Mpk	M2	M2w	Mp	M1kh	T'c
Numbering	723-7000	725-7600	726-7500	727-7000	727-7100	726-7000	725-7700	724-7500
Seating capacity	65	100	80	80	72	72	50	52

Cars 2 and 7 each have one single-arm pantograph.

Interior

The trains feature four 4-seat compartments in car 8, and the seats at the ends of each car have power supply outlets for mobile PC users. Unlike the 0 series SK sets which they replaced, no Green class accommodation is provided. However, the five reserved standard class cars have club class style 2+2 abreast seating compared to the normal 2+3 seating arrangement in the non-reserved cars. Seat pitch is 1,040 mm throughout. Car 4 is also classified as a "Silence car", in which onboard announcements are omitted.

• 
  Hikari Rail Star non-reserved car 3+2 seating, November 2009
• 
  Hikari Rail Star reserved car 2+2 seating, March 2010
• 
  Hikari Rail Star compartment seating, August 2009

Derivatives

Two "Doctor Yellow" trains based on the 700 series design are currently used for diagnostic work on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō lines. Both the 800 series and Taiwan High Speed 700T were directly developed from the 700 series. The new N700 series also evolved from the 700 series

See also

• List of high speed trains

References

• JR全車両ハンドブック2006. Japan: Neko Publishing. 2006. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Semmens, Peter (1997). High Speed in Japan: Shinkansen - The World's Busiest High-speed Railway. Sheffield, UK: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 1-872524-88-5.