The is a Japanese

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 ...

high-speed train type for '' Tsubasa'' services. In revenue service since 16 March 2024, it will progressively replace the E3 series from 2024 onwards, raising the top speed of the service from . It is designed by

Ken Okuyama is a Japanese industrial designer. He is the owner of the Ken Okuyama Design company. Okuyama formerly worked for Pininfarina, designing and supervising projects such as the Enzo Ferrari and Ferrari P4/5. Career Okuyama graduated in 1986 from ...

, in cooperation with

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 ...

. Though 17 sets were originally planned to be built, this was reduced to 15 sets due to reduced travel demand caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. These sets are to be built by

Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing is the Japanese rolling stock manufacturing subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Since beginning operations in 1906, the company has produced more than 90,000 railroad cars. Products As indicated by the company name, the company mainl ...

and

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 ...

. The first set, numbered G1, was delivered to Sendai Shinkansen Depot on 30 January 2023.

Design

The train was designed to invoke the richness of the landscape of the Yamagata region, and the "weaving together of nature and people". The exterior coloring is unchanged from the re-liveried E3 series, also designed by Ken Okuyama: white, evoking the snow of

Mount Zaō The , commonly called Mount Zaō, are a complex cluster of stratovolcanoes on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which ...

; deep purple inspired by the

Mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic – the males are elaborately coloured, while the females have more subdued colours. It is a medium- ...

, the prefectural bird for Yamagata Prefecture; and yellow and red for the

safflower Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is one of the world's oldest crops; today, it is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. ...

, the prefectural flower of Yamagata Prefecture. All cars are equipped with full

active suspension An active suspension is a type of Suspension (vehicle), automotive suspension that uses an onboard control system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels and axles relative to the chassis or vehicle frame, rather than the conventi ...

. The increased top speed from is possible due to its nose, longer than the current E3 series.

Formation

The E8 uses the same 5M2T-formation as the E3 and E6 series

mini-shinkansen is the name given to the concept of converting narrow gauge railway lines to standard gauge for use by shinkansen train services in Japan. Unlike the high-speed Shinkansen lines, the mini-Shinkansen lines have a maximum speed of only . Two m ...

, meaning that it consists of 5 powered (motor), and 2 non-powered (trailer) cars. * Cars 12 and 16 are each equipped with a single-arm

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 ...

Fleet list

Interior

The 7-car trains have two service classes: ordinary cars and Green cars, with a seating capacity of 355. This is 39 fewer seats than the E3 series trains it replaces. Both seating configurations are 2+2 abreast, as is the case for all other mini-Shinkansen trains. AC power outlets are available in both classes. Both the cabins and vestibules are equipped with security cameras. The green car has room for one wheelchair user, while each ordinary car has room for two. All seven cars are equipped to handle large baggage. The color scheme of the Green car seating is inspired by the blue waters of the

Mogami River The is a river in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Description and history The river is 224 km long and has a watershed of 7,040 km2. It is regarded as one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan (along with the Fuji River and the Kuma R ...

, combined with the lush greenery covering

Mount Gassan is a stratovolcano in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata prefecture) and the highest of the Three Mountains of Dewa. The Gassan Shrine stands at the mountain's summit, above sea level. The hike from its trailhead to the summ ...

. The ordinary car seating draws inspiration from the traditional process of extracting the color of the safflower, which is why the color gradually becomes less saturated moving from the seat cushion to the headrest. The center aisle carpet was designed based on the image of the safflower, represented by the seats, reflecting on the waters of the Mogami River as it flows between them. File:Shinkansen E8 Green Car seat.jpg, Green car interior File:Shinkansen E8 seat.jpg, Wheelchair space File:Shinkansen E8 multipurpose room.jpg, Multipurpose Room File:Shinkansen E8 public space 01.jpg, Public spaces File:Shinkansen E8 barrier-free lavatory.jpg, Toilet

References

External links

Press release (in Japanese)
* {{JR East EMU Shinkansen train series East Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 2024 Passenger trains running at least at 300 km/h in commercial operations Kawasaki multiple units Hitachi multiple units 20 kV AC multiple units 25 kV AC multiple units