The and the related are Japanese

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

high-speed train types built by

Hitachi Rail () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo ...

and

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is ...

. The E5 series is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East); it was introduced on Tohoku Shinkansen services on 5 March 2011 and on

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

services on 26 March 2016. A total of 59 10-car sets are on order, with three sets in service in time for the start of new ''

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C fo ...

'' services to Shin-Aomori in March 2011. The H5 series, a cold-weather derivative of the E5 series, is operated by

Hokkaido Railway Company The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a s ...

(JR Hokkaido); it has been in use on Tohoku and Hokkaido Shinkansen services since 26 March 2016. Ordered in February 2014, a total of four 10-car sets were built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries at a cost of approximately . The first two sets were delivered in October 2014.

Design

Technology incorporated in these trains is derived from the experimental Fastech 360S train tested by JR East. The initial maximum speed in service was , but this was raised to between Utsunomiya and Morioka from the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013. The trains feature an electric

active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...

H5

The H5 series is directly based on the E5 series trains operated by JR East on the Tohoku Shinkansen since 2011, and has an identical maximum operating speed of , although this is limited to on the Hokkaido Shinkansen, and to on the dual gauge track extending through the undersea

Seikan Tunnel The Seikan Tunnel ( ja, 青函トンネル, or , ), is a dual-gauge railway tunnel in Japan, with a portion under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Aomori Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu from the northern isl ...

connecting

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

with mainland

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...

. All cars feature active suspension, and

tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 * ...

by up to 1.5 degrees through curves, allowing the maximum speed of to be maintained even on curves with a radius of . The units feature a number of cold-weather improvements, including an upgraded snowplow on the lead units, durable rubber to protect the various connections between cars and a stainless-steel underframe to protect the electronics (upgraded from the usual aluminium underframe protection for added durability). They also incorporate minor interior design differences compared with the E5 series. File:E5kei PS208.jpg, PS208 pantograph

Operations

, E5 series and H5 trainsets work with each other, and are used on the following services on the Tohoku and

lines: * ''

'' * '' Hayate'' * ''

Yamabiko The is a high-speed Shinkansen train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen between and by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. Name The word ''yamabiko'' is usually translated as 'echo', particularly one which is heard in the ...

'' * ''

Nasuno The is a train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It serves all stations between and , a medium-sized city approximately 225 km north of Tokyo.JR Timetable, December 2008 Origin ...

'' E5 series trainsets were first introduced on the new ''

'' services between Tokyo and from 5 March 2011, initially operating at a maximum speed of . From 19 November 2011, a total of six E5 series trainsets were in operation, with sets also used on some '' Hayate'' and ''

'' services. ''Hayate'' services operated coupled with E3 series '' Komachi'' services, and were limited to a maximum speed of . From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, E5 series sets were also introduced used on some ''

'' all-stations services. The H5 series is the first JR Hokkaido train type to use the "H" prefix, following the method used by JR East (with an "E" prefix).

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. For the H5 series, the "Hayate" pink stripe is replaced by a purple stripe intended to evoke images of lilac, lupin, and

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

flowers for which Hokkaido is famous. File:Logo Hayabusa.jpg, Bodyside "Hayabusa" logo (E5) File:H5系ロゴマーク.JPG, Bodyside logo (H5) File:Gran Class mark.JPG, "Gran Class" logo on car 10, December 2010 File:JREast seriesE5train direction infomation board.JPG, LED destination indicators

Interior

The trains have three classes of accommodation: premium Gran Class (car 10), Green class (car 9), and Ordinary class (cars 1 to 8).

Gran Class

Car 10 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 . Seats are wide and recline to a maximum angle of 45 degrees. The pre-series set, S11, did not initially include Gran Class accommodation. The carpet in the H5 series's Gran Class car is blue with a pattern intended to evoke images of Hokkaido's sea and lakes. All seats in the H5 series feature AC power outlets.

Green car

Car 9 is designated as "Green car" (first class) accommodation with 55 seats arranged in 2+2 abreast configuration. Seat pitch is . Seats are wide and recline to an angle of 31 degrees. The carpet in the H5 series's Green car is dark grey with a pattern depicting the ocean with fragments of drift ice. All seats in the H5 series feature AC power outlets.

Ordinary class

Ordinary-class cars (cars 1 to 8) have a seat pitch of , which is larger than on the

E2 series The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on the Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed lines in Japan since 1997. They are formed in 8- and 10-car sets. The 8-car sets were used on the Hokurik ...

trains. Seating is arranged in 3+2 abreast configuration. AC power outlets are provided for window seats and rows of seats at car ends for the E5 series, and all seats for the H5 series. The interior of the H5 series's ordinary-class cars is intended to evoke images of snow and the night view of

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

Gallery

E5

File:E5・E514-21.jpg, Interior of Gran Class car E514-21 in November 2014 File:E5kei Green car Interior.JPG, Interior of a Green car in March 2016 E5kei interior.JPG, Interior of an ordinary-class car (car 3) in December 2015 File:Shinkansen E5 interior, electrical outlet.jpg, An AC power outlet in an ordinary-class car

H5

File:H5・H514-3.jpg, The interior of Gran Class car H514-3 in March 2016 File:H5・H515-3.jpg, The interior of Green car H515-3 in April 2016 File:H525-102 inside 20160406.jpg, The interior of ordinary-class car No. 7 in April 2016

Formation

E5

The production E5 series sets are formed as follows, with car 1 at the Tokyo end and car 10 at the Aomori end. Cars 3 and 7 each have one single-arm

pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...

, although only one is normally raised in service.

H5

The 10-car sets, numbered "H1" onward, are formed with eight motored ("M") cars and two non-powered trailer ("T") cars. Car 1 is at the southern end. Cars 3 and 7 each have one N-PS208 single-arm pantograph. File:H523-1 omiya 20160327.jpg, H523-1 (car No. 1) in March 2016 File:H526-101 omiya 20160327.jpg, H526-101 (car No. 2) in March 2016 File:H525-2 SHH 20160406.jpg, H525-2 (car No. 3) in April 2016 File:H526-202 SHH 20160406.jpg, H526-202 (car No. 4) in April 2016 File:H525-402 SHH 20160406.jpg, H525-402 (car No. 5) in April 2016 File:H526-301 omiya 20160327.jpg, H526-301 (car No. 6) in March 2016 File:H525-101 omiya 20160327.jpg, H525-101 (car No. 7) in March 2016 File:H526-401 omiya 20160327.jpg, H526-401 (car No. 8) in March 2016 File:H515-1 omiya 20160327.jpg, H515-1 (car No. 9) in March 2016 File:H514-1 omiya 20160327.jpg, H514-1 (car No. 10) in March 2016

History

The pre-series set, S11, was delivered to Sendai Depot in May 2009 ahead of extensive test running on the Tohoku Shinkansen. Cars 1 to 5 were built by Hitachi in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 km2 (2,359 sq mi). Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture t ...

, and cars 6 to 10 were built by

in Hyogo Prefecture. 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 December 2010. In May 2012, the E5 series was awarded the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award, presented annually by the Japan Railfan Club. A formal presentation ceremony was held at Tokyo Station on 20 November 2012. The pre-series set, S11, was upgraded to full-production standard in February 2013 and renumbered U1. It retains the flush

plug door A plug door is a door designed to seal itself by taking advantage of pressure difference on its two sides and is typically used on aircraft with cabin pressurization. The higher pressure on one side forces the usually wedge-shaped door into its ...

s for the passenger doors immediately behind the driving cabs, whereas the full-production sets have recessed sliding doors. From the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013, the maximum speed in service was raised from to between Utsunomiya and Morioka.

H5 series

Details of the new H5 series trains on order were announced by JR Hokkaido in April 2014. The first set, H1, was shipped from Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe to Hakodate Depot in October 2014. The second set was also delivered in October 2014. In November 2014, JR Hokkaido officially announced details of the bodyside logos to be applied to the trains, combining an outline of Hokkaido with an image intended to portray the

gyrfalcon The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a resid ...

native to Hokkaido. Slow-speed test-running on the Hokkaido Shinkansen tracks within Hokkaido commenced from 1 December 2014, with the maximum speed of 260 km/h reached on 26 December. Test-running on the Tohoku Shinkansen south of Shin-Aomori commenced in November 2015.

Fleet list

E5

, the fleet is as follows.

H5

, the H5 series fleet is as follows. Set H2 was withdrawn in April 2022 following damage sustained from the 2022 Fukushima earthquake. The set was dismantled and remains at the port of

as of December 2022. It will be moved to a Shinkansen depot in

Nanae, Hokkaido is a town located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. In April 2017, the town had an estimated population of 28,514, with 13,639 households, and a density of 130 persons per km2. The total area is 216.61 km2. Geography Nanae is at th ...

on a future date where it will then be used for staff training.

Accidents and incidents

H5 series set H2, coupled with E6 series set Z9 and operating as ''

'' No. 223 bound for Sendai, derailed during the 2022 Fukushima earthquake while traveling between

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

and Shiroishi-Zaō stations. There were no injuries on board.

Future developments

The E5 series trains have been chosen for use on the planned ₹1.08 trillion

Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor (MAHSR) or Mumbai–Ahmedabad HSR is an under-construction high-speed rail line connecting India's economic hub Mumbai with the city of Ahmedabad. When completed, it will be India's first high-speed ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, scheduled to open in December 2027.

References

External links

JR East E5 series

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140416081225/https://www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/press/2014/140416-1.pdf JR Hokkaido press release (16 April 2014) {{JR Hokkaido trainsets Shinkansen train series East Japan Railway Company Hokkaido Railway Company 25 kV AC multiple units Train-related introductions in 2016 Train-related introductions in 2011 Hitachi multiple units Tilting trains Passenger trains running at least at 300 km/h in commercial operations Kawasaki multiple units