Fastech 360 is the name given to a pair of former experimental high-speed

EMU The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

trainsets developed by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) to test technology for the next-generation

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

rolling stock. The name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of Fast, Technology, and 360 km/h (), the target operational speed for production trains based on the new technologies. Speeds of up to were targeted during performance testing. Results of testing using these trains was incorporated into the E5 series and E6 series trains, entering revenue service from 2011, eventually operating at . There were 2 trains: *Class E954 ''Fastech 360S'': 8-car set for use on shinkansen tracks only *Class E955 ''Fastech 360Z'': 6-car set for use on both shinkansen and Mini-shinkansen lines Fastech 360 trains were equipped with emergency air braking plates like that of an

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, similar in appearance to the ears of a cat. This trait earned them a nickname of , which literally means "cat-eared Shinkansen". This technology was not incorporated in the subsequent E5 series or E6 series trains.

Class E954 ''Fastech 360S''

This 8-car set (S9) was delivered on 26 June 2005. Cars 1 to 3 were built by

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

, and cars 4 to 8 were built by

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...

. Car E954-1 has a ''stream-line'' profile, reminiscent of the 500 series, and E954-8 has an ''arrow-line'' profile more reminiscent of the JR East E2 series and E4 series designs. The train was withdrawn in September 2009 and scrapped.

Formation

# E954-1 (T1c) # E954-2 (M1) (with

pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a Linkage (mechanical), 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 se ...

) # E954-3 (M2) (with toilet) # E954-4 (M2) # E954-5 (M1s) # E954-6 (M2) # E954-7 (M1) (with pantograph) # E954-8 (T2c) File:Shinkansen E954 (Fastech360S) at Sendai.jpg, The car 8 end in February 2009 with the ''arrow-line'' profile leading File:E954 S9 E954-3 Sendai 20060421.jpg, E954-3 (car 3) in April 2006, with the green-coloured seats visible File:JRE E954-1.jpg File:FASTECH 360-S.JPG File:FASTECH 360 (4098392370).jpg file:E954-G.jpg file:E954-8.JPG File:E954 S9 Sendai 20060421.jpg File:E954FASTECH360Aerodynamicsbrakes.JPG

Class E955 ''Fastech 360Z''

This 6-car set (S10) was delivered on 6 April 2006. Cars 1 and 4 to 6 were built by

, and cars 2 and 3 were built by

The train was withdrawn in December 2008 and scrapped.

Formation

# E955-1 (M2c) # E955-2 (M1s) # E955-3 (M1) (with pantograph and toilet) # E955-4 (M1) # E955-5 (M1) (with pantograph) # E955-6 (M2c)

References

External links

Press release from JR East

A bullet train... only with ears (BBC News)
* JR East press release
"新幹線高速試験電車 FASTECH 360 まもなくデビュー"

新幹線高速試験電車E955形式（FASTECH360Z）の概要

(Japan Railfan Magazine Online)

(Japan Railfan Magazine Online) {{Shinkansen Shinkansen train series East Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 2005 Experimental and prototype high-speed trains 20 kV AC multiple units 25 kV AC multiple units Hitachi multiple units Kawasaki multiple units