New 360-kph bullet train ready for trial operations

2006-04-07 | by Jamie | Categories: Links and Articles, Trains

Link: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060311p2a00m0na032000c.html

SENDAI -- The prototype of the next-generation bullet train designed to travel at 360 kilometers per hour has been brought to Sendai for trial operations, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said.

Six "FASTECH 360Z" carriages were transported to Sendai on freighters from train factories in Kobe and other areas. They were transferred to trailers at the Port of Sendai and brought to a bullet train depot in Sendai.

FASTECH 360Z will begin trial operations on the Tohoku, Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen lines in April.

(Read more here)

How do you like them apples France? While I won't be in Japan long enough to take a ride on one of these bad boys, I will get my chance to ride the real fastest train in the world when I visit Shanghai in a few weeks.

8 feedbacks » •

8 comments

Comment from: Matt [Visitor]

Wow! That train looks more like a rail-guided missile than a passenger transporter. The greenish-turquoise color is interesting as well. I wonder if that's the final color or if they're going to finalize the paint job?

2006-04-07 @ 03:42

Comment from: Jeremy [Visitor] · http://jez-sez.blogspot.com

That train looks tight, reminds me of a car in F-Zero. I hope maglev trains are introduced in Japan soon too. I know they're already testing them:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2926400396387878713&q=japan+maglev&pl=true

Tokyo to Osaka in just over an hour!

2006-04-07 @ 03:53

Comment from: m [Visitor]

that is the coolest train ever. i hope it works before i leave. just look at that slick paint job.

and maglev, such joy. enjoy the shanghai noon james

2006-04-07 @ 10:48

Comment from: Will [Visitor]

I'd definitely wait until it was out of diapers before taking a ride.

2006-04-07 @ 11:55

Comment from: Charlie [Visitor] · http://www.charlietyack.com/

Wow, it looks great! It's almost as fast as a Jaguar XJ220. Still, the Jag did only have a 6 cylinder engine. Expect to see this on a train simulator near you some time soon.

The Shanghai maglev mofo should be a real blast. Perhaps literally: apparently when the two trains pass each other at top speed, there is a massive bang.

Are you going on the Trans-Siberian?

2006-04-07 @ 16:05

Comment from: Jamie [Member] · http://www.avoidinglife.com

Wow, no train post on this site has ever had such a big response before. Boys everywhere just love trains!

Charlie, no we're not doing the Trans-Siberian thing. We are however plainning to take a night train on our trip, and surprisingly the Chinese night trains look much nicer than the Japanese one I've been on before.

2006-04-12 @ 20:25

Comment from: Nic [Visitor] · http://www.klarbooks.com

Shanghai! Cool! The train tops out at 431km/h. But the terminus is in the middle of nowhere and you have to swap to the metroline or taxi to get downtown.

By the way, don't buy DVD's at the knock-off market (XinYang), and don't pay more than 40% of the offered price on anything else.

Have a blast!

2006-04-13 @ 15:04

Comment from: Jamie [Member] · http://www.avoidinglife.com

Thanks for the tips! I wasn't planning on buying any DVDs though. Why pay even 1$ for a DVD when you can just download everything these days for free?

2006-04-13 @ 15:39

Comment feed for this post