FGT-9000

The FGT-9000 is an experimental high-speed electric multiple unit operated by the Kyushu Railway Company from April 2014 to around 2018.
==History==
The FGT-9000 was built in 2014 and was designed to be capable of at least 270 km/h (170 mph) on normal Shinkansen lines and at least 130 km/h (80 mph) on conventional narrow-gauge lines. It began testing on a new three-mode facility which allows for "standard gauge", "gauge changing" and "narrow gauge" modes some time in March.
The train would have been endurance tested until March 2017, but the discovery of defective thrust bearing oil seals on the bogies caused testing to be suspended in December 2014 after accumulating around 33,000 km (20,505.2 mi). Endurance testing for the bearings began in December 2016 with the train running on the Kyushu Shinkansen; the set was seen operational until around early 2018. The set has been stored at Kumamoto Rolling Stock Depot since then.
JR Kyushu has since abandoned the free gauge concept for the Nagasaki Shinkansen, with JR West following suit, essentially marking the end of the gauge change train program; development on the concept has been minimal. The Kintetsu Railway also considered the concept's use but ultimately decided against adopting such technologies.
==Design==
The trainset's end cars are radically different to the first generation of Shinkansen. Their shape departed the "bullet" shape of the first generation and replaced it with "shark-like" head and tail cars.
==Specifications==
The end cars are 23.075 meters long, and the intermediate cars are 20.5 meters long. Traction motors are IGBT variable frequency drives.
As hinted by the name, the FGT-9000 has variable gauge axles which allow it to run on both cape gauge (1,067 mm, 3 ft 6 in) and standard gauge (1,435 mm, 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) rails. Only car FGT-9002 is fitted with seats.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Prototype locomotives
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Unique locomotives
Category:Hitachi locomotives
Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Built in 2014
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Japanese locomotives