400 Series Shinkansen

The 400 Series Shinkansen is a high-speed electric multiple unit operated by the East Japan Railway Company from July 1992 to April 2010. These were the first mini-Shinkansen sets, being significantly smaller and narrower than their standard gauge counterparts.
==History==
These trainsets had to be built much narrower than other Shinkansen trainsets. The Yamagata line is an upgraded line, from narrow gauge to standard gauge. Though the gauge is the same as the main lines, the infrastructure wasn't built for such wide vehicles such as the 300 Series. So narrow was the 400 Series that when the train stopped at main Shinkansen lines, steps had to extend from beneath the doors so passengers could get to the platform.
A pre-production set, S4, was manufactured in October 1990. It had a 6-car layout; all the cars were powered. The set differed from production sets by having seat-back TV screens. Testing began on 14 November 1990. On 26 March 1991 S4 set a new Japanese speed record of 336 km/h (208 mph), on the Jōetsu Shinkansen in the Yuzawa Tunnel; it would break that record with a 345 km/h (214 mph) speed on 19 September 1991 on the same stretch of track. S4 was later modified to production standards, becoming L1 on 29 June 1992.
In late-1995 a 7th car was added to the sets. This unpowered car took position 5 in the sets. Withdrawals began in February 2009 with set L9, with the trains being replaced with E3 Series sets; the last service for a 400 Series Shinkansen set was a Tsubasa No. 18 service, titled Sayonara 400 Series, operated by set L3 on 18 April 2010.
==Specifications==
Construction was of steel, and a single set could cater for 399 (379 standard + 20 Green class) passengers. The end cars are 22.8 meters long and the intermediate cars are 20.5 meters long. Top speed is 240 km/h (150 mph) on the Tōhoku Shinkansen, and 130 km/h (81 mph) on the Akita Shinkansen. It took 20/25 kV, AC at 50 Hz.
==Preservation==
The following 400 Series Shinkansen cars have been preserved:
Car number	Manufacturer 	Date manufactured	Date retired	Previous sets	Location 	Notes
411-3 	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	January 1992 	April 2010 	L3 	The Railway Museum, Saitama, Japan	Ex-L3, last operational set, stored at Fukushima Depot for a number of years before being moved to the Railway Museum; repainted back to original livery
==Gallery==
File:400 411-3 2023.jpg
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Hitachi locomotives
Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Tokyu Car locomotives