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N700 Series Shinkansen / 新幹線N700系

The N700 Series (N700系) is a Shinkansen train type opearted by JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu.

Entering service in 2007 as the next generation development of the 700 series, the N700 series would be adopted by JR Central and JR West for Tōkaidō-San'yo Shinkansen services. It was designed with the same top speed (300km/h) as JR West's 500 series, but with higher acceleration performance and operational compatibility with other Shinkansen trains. 16-car trains were manufactured as the 0 series variant for JR Central and 3000 series for JR West, they displaced the 500 and 700 series from express services, which in turn lead to the complete removal of the older 0 and 300 series trains from slower services. JR West and JR Kyushu would subsequently develop a 8 car variant for their respective high speed lines, these entered service in 2011 with the opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen. The improved N700A variant entered service in 2013 with improved stability and updated equipment, older units already in operation were then modified to N700A specifications. Production of the type continued until 2020, when it was switched for the N700S series. The total number of cars manufactured is 2992 cars in 202 trains, the largest number for a Shinkansen vehicle with the exception of the 0 series. Scrapping of the oldest N700 sets began when the N700S series entered service, with much of the aluminium alloy recycled for use on the new trains. Around 40 trains have already been withdrawn, and JR West has shortened some of it's 16 car sets to 8 cars for Kodama services on the San'yo Shinkansen. As the newest trains are just 5 years old the type will remain in service well into the next decade, albeit in slowly declining numbers. JR West and JR Kyushu are likely to retain the 8-car trains for significantly longer after the types eventual retirement from the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

Basic Information:

Max Speed: 300km/h
Acceleration: 0.72m/s/s
Motor Output: 305kW x 4 per car

The following formations are included:

N700-7000/8000 Series S/R Formation (8 Car)

Configuration: 8M0T
Max Pax: 546
In Service: 2011-

N700-2000/5000 Series X/K Formation (16 Car)

Configuration: 14M2T
Max Pax: 1323
In Service: 2007-