Shinkansen Bullet

The **Shinkansen Bullet** is an electric locomotive in the game Railroad Tycoon II. It is the first very fast electric 'bullet' locomotive in the base game (TGVx being an expansion locomotive), becoming available in 1966. With a top speed of 130mph, the Shinkansen will be able to make a huge amount of profit on long-distance passenger routes. However, this is very much balanced out by the fact that the Shinkansen has a very high annual maintenance cost. It can haul 4 passenger cars at over 100mph.

## Strategy

The Shinkansen is a very delicate locomotive that can really only be used on long-distance passenger routes between two large megalopolises, replacing the F9 or GG1 on these sorts of routes. Compared to the TGVx, it is a worse performing locomotive, but it is far cheaper, and is probably the better choice on most occasions, considering the TGVx's reliability problems. The Shinkansen's horrendous hauling power and hefty maintenance bill means it can't be used on any types of freight or short-distance passenger routes in general. It also shouldn't be considered at all for routes with a gradient higher than 1.5%, as it will grind to a halt. Because of its high maintenance, any route that the Shinkansen runs on must be very kind to the locomotive. Shinkansens should run largely on seperate tracks from the rest of the railways, with curves limited and straights extended so that the Shinkansen can maintain a good speed. A good indicator should be that each Shinkansen locomotive should really be averaging 80mph or above (it won't make good profits otherwise), or another locomotive such as the Class 55 Deltic or F9 should be retained. The Shinkansen Bullet also has disappointingly low reliability, especially considering how it is a very fast locomotive that will be traveling a great distance over it's lifetime. Players that use this locomotive in large numbers will find the amount of breakdowns and crashes very irritating, and that a locomotive will need to replace each locomotive many times before the Eurostar/Thalys Bullet come out in 1994. The One helpful specification though of the Shinkansen Bullet is that it has fantastic acceleration, meaning that station turnaround can be extremely fast in conjunction with Telephone poles (a must have at Megalopolis station).

As hinted before, the Shinkansen Bullet is eventually superceded in the role of express passenger services by the Eurostar and the Thalys Bullet when they become available in 1994. If the player has the Second Century expansion, then the TGV (1973) is a considerable upgrade locomotive, because of its increased speed, which makes up for the slight increase in fuel costs.

## History

The **0 series** (0系 *Zero-kei*) trains were the first Shinkansen trainsets built to run on Japan's new Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line which opened in Japan in 1964. The last remaining trainsets were withdrawn in 2008.

The 0 series (which were not originally classified, as there was no need to distinguish classes of trainset until later) entered service with the start of Tōkaidō Shinkansen operations in October 1964. These units were white with a blue stripe along the windows and another at the bottom of the car body, including the front pilot.

Unlike previous Japanese trains, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and all subsequent Shinkansen lines were standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) between the rails). The trains were powered by 25 kV AC electricity at 60 Hz with all axles of all cars powered by 185 kW traction motors, giving a 220 km/h (140 mph) top speed.
The original trains were introduced as 12-car sets, with some sets later lengthened to 16 cars. Later, shorter trains of 6 cars and even 4 cars were assembled for lesser duties. Production of 0 series units continued from 1963 until 1986.

Shinkansen sets are generally retired after fifteen to twenty years. The final remaining 0 series sets were 6-car sets used on JR-West *Kodama* services on the Sanyō Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, and on the Hakata-Minami Line until their retirement on 30 November 2008.

Following retirement from regular service, JR-West ran a number of special commemorative *Hikari* runs in December 2008. *Hikari* 347, powered by set R61, arrived at Hakata Station at 6:01 pm on 14 December 2008, bringing to an end the 44 years of service of the 0 series trains.