The is a Japanese Shinkansen

Shinkansen

The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...

 high-speed train type operated by East Japan Railway Company

East Japan Railway Company

is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....

 (JR East) on Tōhoku Shinkansen

Tohoku Shinkansen

The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata...

 services since 5 March 2011. A total of 59 10-car sets are on order, with three sets in service in time for the start of new Hayabusa

Hayabusa (train)

The is a new high-speed Shinkansen service operated by East Japan Railway Company between Tokyo and in Japan since 5 March 2011. The name was formerly used for a limited express sleeping car service operated by JR Kyushu, which ran from Tokyo to , and was discontinued in March 2009.-Service...

services to Shin-Aomori in March 2011.

Design

Technology incorporated in these trains is derived from the experimental Fastech 360S train tested by JR East. Maximum speed will be 320 km/h (199 mph), although services will initially run at a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) until 2013.

Formation

The production sets are formed as follows.

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Designation	T1c	M2	M1	M2	M1k	M2	M1	M2	M1s	Tsc
Numbering	E523	E526-100	E525	E526-200	E525-400	E526-300	E525-100	E526-400	E515	E514
Weight (t)	41.9	45.9	46.0	46.3	46.1	46.8	46.8	46.0	45.8	42.7
Capacity	59	100	85	100	59	100	85	100	55	18

Cars 3 and 7 each have one single-arm pantograph

Pantograph (rail)

A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...

.

Build history

Set number	Date delivered	Manufacturer	Remarks
S11	15 June 2009	Hitachi Hitachi Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family... /Kawasaki HI Kawasaki Heavy Industries is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....	Pre-production set
U2	14 December 2010	Kawasaki HI	Full-production set
U3	January 2011	Hitachi
U4	February 2011	Hitachi

Source:

Operations

E5 series trainsets were initially introduced on the new Hayabusa

Hayabusa (train)

The is a new high-speed Shinkansen service operated by East Japan Railway Company between Tokyo and in Japan since 5 March 2011. The name was formerly used for a limited express sleeping car service operated by JR Kyushu, which ran from Tokyo to , and was discontinued in March 2009.-Service...

services between Tokyo and from 5 March 2011, operating at a maximum speed of 300 km/h. From 19 November 2011, a total of six E5 series trainsets are scheduled to be in operation, with sets also used on some Hayate and Yamabiko services. Hayate services operate coupled with E3 series

E3 Series Shinkansen

The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built for Komachi services which commenced on 3 June 1997, coinciding with opening of the new Akita Shinkansen 'mini-shinkansen' line, a regular narrow-gauge line between Morioka and Akita upgraded to . Later versions of the E3 series were also...

 Komachi services, and will be limited to a maximum speed of 275 km/h.

Exterior

The exterior design of the trains is broadly based on the experimental Fastech 360S train, with a colour scheme of green for the upper body and white for the lower body, separated by a "Hayate" pink stripe.

Gran Class

Car 10 (at the Aomori end) is designated "Gran Class", featuring 18 power-reclining "shell" seats with leather seat covers arranged in 2+1 abreast configuration. Originally given the provisional name "Super Green Car", seat pitch in the Gran Class car is 1300 mm (51.2 in). Seats are 520 mm (20.5 in) wide and recline to a maximum angle of 45 degrees. The pre-production set, S11, does not however include Gran Class accommodation.

Green class

Car 9 is designated as "Green Class" (first class) accommodation with 48 seats arranged in 2+2 abreast configuration. Seat pitch is 1160 mm (45.7 in). Seats are 475 mm (18.7 in) wide and recline to an angle of 31 degrees.

Standard class

Standard class cars (cars 1 to 8) have a seat pitch of 1040 mm (40.9 in), which is 60 mm (2.4 in) larger than on the E2 series

E2 Series Shinkansen

The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company on the Tōhoku and Nagano Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets are used on the Nagano Shinkansen, and the 10-car sets on Tōhoku Shinkansen...

 trains. Seating is arranged in 3+2 abreast configuration.

History

The pre-production set, S11, was delivered to Sendai Depot in May 2009 ahead of extensive test running on the Tōhoku Shinkansen

Tohoku Shinkansen

The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata...

. Cars 1 to 5 were built by Hitachi

Hitachi

Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...

 in Yamaguchi Prefecture

Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...

, and cars 6 to 10 were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries

is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....

 in Hyogo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

. Set S11 made its first appearance at Tokyo Station on 9 December 2009.

The first full-production set, U2, was delivered to Sendai Depot in November 2010.

External links

• JR East E5 series Hayabusa website