500 Series Shinkansen

The 500 Series Shinkansen is a high-speed electric multiple unit operated by the West Japan Railway Company since March 1997. Radically different from its predecessors, the 500 Series Shinkansen sets acted as the flagship vehicles of the JR West, being faster and more eye-catching than all that came before it.
==History==
The 500 Series Shinkansen was developed by JR West with the aim of achieving even higher speeds than were previously capable with existing machinery to allow the JR network to continue to compete with aircraft services. A precursor project to the 500 Series was the Hitachi HST project, intended for a future high-speed train operating in Japan at a speed of at least 350 km/h (217 mph); this would ultimately lead to the creation of the WIN350, essentially a very early prototype of the 500 Series.
The first set, W1, was completed in January 1996. After a period of testing the sets entered service on 22 March 1997 as the fastest and most advanced of the Shinkansen series, with W1 pulling the inaugural Nozomi services pulled by the series. Between July 1997 and December 1998, eight more sets, W2 to W9, were constructed and delivered. Due to their high price of construction no more than nine sets were built, these being quite significantly more expensive than the earlier 300 Series Shinkansen sets; it is said that it cost ¥300 million per car and about ¥4.6 billion per train. They were normally used on the Nozomi service, but were also used for the Hikari Rail Star service during holiday seasons.
With the impending retirements of the 0 Series Shinkansen sets in 2008, JR West decided to reform eight of the nine 500 Series Shinkansen sets to 8 cars in length to replace the 0 Series trainsets running the Kodama services on the San'yō Shinkansen. The first set to be so modified, W3, was shown off in its new form, V3, on 28 March 2008; modifications included the removal of eight intermediate cars, a top speed reduction to 285 km/h (177 mph) and the addition of 7000 to the car's suffix. The sets entered service in this form on 1 December 2008, replacing the now-withdrawn 0 Series Shinkansen sets; by this point, four sets had been modified in this form. The sets would also be withdrawn from the Nozomi service, being replaced by newer and more modern N700 Series Shinkansen sets.
The last Nozomi run for the 500 Series Shinkansen was held on 28 February 2010; W1 and W8 were used to pull the last services. All eight sets were rebuilt to eight cars in length by June 2010; W1 was not modified and remained at Hakata Shinkansen Depot for testing purposes, with all intermediate cars scrapped between 2012 and 2014. Withdrawals of the sets began in March 2022, with V5 and V6 retired that year. Four more sets are expected to be withdrawn from service by end-2026, with four N700 Series Shinkansen sets shortened to 8 cars in length to replace them; the N700 Series Shinkansen sets were chosen due to their increased functionality compared to the 500 Series sets. JR West is expected to fully withdraw the 500 Series sets from operation in 2027.
An award-winning design, the 500 Series Shinkansen won the 1996 Good Design Award and the 1998 Blue Ribbon Award. Due to its design, it is considered one of Japan's most iconic railway vehicles and is often considered JR West's flagship train.
==Design==
The trains were styled by noted German industrial designer Alexander Neumeister; Neumeister was the designer of the ICE V series of trains, a precursor to the Intercity Express family of trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. It features a more circular cross section in comparison to other Shinkansen trains, taking inspiration from a kingfisher's beak; this was done to reduce the sonic boom effect. Neumeister considers this his favorite train-related project he has worked on.
W1 and W2 (now V2) feature a dimple on the side of each cab car as a viewing port for internal sensor equipment.
Its design may have influenced the China Railway CRH380A series of high-speed trains.
==Specifications==
Construction is of aluminium alloy. The end cars are 27 meters long, and the intermediate cars are 25 meters long. They run on 25 kV, AC 60 Hz power. Output is 18,240 kW (24,460 hp) (set W1), and 17,600 kW (23,600 hp) for the rest. Traction motors are 3-level GTO thyristor variable frequency drives manufactured by Toshiba which produce 64 × 382 hp (285 kW) (set W1), and 64 × 369 hp (275 kW) for the rest.
==Special liveries==
Set V2 has been painted with special liveries since 2015. V2 ran in a "TYPE EVA" livery from 2015 to 2018 as part of the Shinkansen: Evangelion Project to mark the 40th anniversary of the Sanyo Shinkansen and the 20th anniversary of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, complete with an Evangelion-themed interior. V2 was repainted into a Hello Kitty livery in 2018 and has remained that way since.
==Preservation==
The following 500 Series Shinkansen cars have been preserved:
Car number	Manufacturer 	Date manufactured	Date retired 	Previous sets	Location 	Notes
521-1 	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	January 1996 	February 2010	W1 	Kyoto Railway Museum, Kyoto, Japan 	Ex-pre-production set W1, initially stored at Hakata Shinkansen Depot; has been painted in numerous special liveries
522-1 	Hitachi 	January 1996 	February 2010	W1 	Hitachi Kasado Factory, Kudamatsu, Japan	Ex-pre-production set W1, initially stored at Hakata Shinkansen Depot; currently on display at the History and Memorial Hall on factory premises
==Gallery==
JR West 500 inside.jpg|Early children's playplace
500 Series Shinkansen V6 Shin-Kurashiki 2012.jpg|Set V6 in May 2012
File:500 522-1 2023.jpg
==Trivia==
*The 500 Series Shinkansen are the only Shinkansen models to have been solely designed by JR West.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Locomotives
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Hitachi locomotives
Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives
Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives