The new 500-type Nozomi bullet train, which boasts a commercial operating speed of 300 kph, will debut later this month on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, linking Tokyo and Hakata Station in Fukuoka in four hours and 49 minutes.
The train, developed by West Japan Railway Co., will shorten the travel time between Tokyo and Hakata by 15 minutes, according to the railway. It will run at 300 kph between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, but between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka the speed will be limited to 270 kph, the maximum for current operations on that section.
The new Nozomi's streamlined lead coach resembles a long bird's bill. The train includes such state-of-the art technology as wing-shaped pantographs and an aluminum alloy body with honeycombed, hollow spaces to reduce weight, the carrier said.
Currently, the train is running once a day on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata. After its introduction on the Tokaido Line, it will make three round trips between Tokyo and Hakata a day.