The trains

From Series 0 to N700S

Each new series has been faster, quieter or more efficient than the last.

How this site works. Every fact is in our own words and linked to its source, beside it. Where good sources disagree, we show each version in a “Sources differ” box.

Series 0

The first trains, the Series 0, were the first in the world to run in passenger service at a top speed of 210km/h. Embassy of Japan

Shima’s team designed the sleek cone-shaped front, inspired by the aircraft of the time. NRM

22-141 was the last car of the first series to be withdrawn from service. Science Museum Group

A white train with a blue stripe and a flatter, wedge-shaped nose running across fields below Mount Fuji — A Series 300, the first Nozomi train, below Mount Fuji in 1999.Picture: Shellparakeet, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

Nozomi

The first ‘Nozomi’ trains, the Series 300, started running on the Tokaido Shinkansen in March 1992. JR Central history

With the Nozomi, Tokyo to Osaka came down to a fastest time of 2 hours 30 minutes. JR Central, 2024

The Series 700 joined the Nozomi in March 1999. JR Central history

In October 2003 Shinagawa station opened and every Tokaido Shinkansen train’s top speed was raised to 270km/h. JR Central history

The Series N700 began Nozomi services in July 2007, and the N700A in February 2013. JR Central history

The latest Tokaido type, the N700S, began running on 1 July 2020. Embassy of Japan

The 500 Series

In 2005 JR West’s 500 Series, with its long nose, was running between Tokyo and Hakata at up to 300km/h. JFS, 2005

The 500 Series nose is 15 metres long, and it cut air pressure by 30% and electricity use by 15%, while running 10% faster. JFS, 2005

Its nose came from a bird; that story is on the speed page.

A silver-grey bullet train with a very long, pointed nose and a round cab window, passing through a station — A JR West 500 Series on a Nozomi service at Maibara, 2010.Picture: Kubotake, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

JR East: E5, E6 and E8

JR East’s Series E5 began regular running at 320km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen on 16 March 2013, the fastest speed then allowed for passenger trains in Japan. Railway Gazette, 2013

The E5 was designed to bring Tokyo to Shin-Aomori down to 3 hours 5 minutes. Railway Gazette, 2013

The E6 ‘Komachi’ runs to Akita, joining the Shinkansen and older lines with no need to change trains. JR East

The E8, for Yamagata, began running on 16 March 2024; it has a top speed of 300km/h and a 9-metre nose. JR East

A green and white bullet train with a long nose and a pink stripe, beside a red-nosed train, passing a station — A green-and-white E5 and a red E6 on the Tohoku Shinkansen in 2015.Picture: Nanashinodensyaku, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

Doctor Yellow

‘Doctor Yellow’ is the nickname of the yellow Shinkansen trains that inspect the track, the overhead wires and the signals. Asahi, 2025

Seeing one is said to bring good luck, because they run only once every 10 days and their times are never published. Asahi, 2025

JR Central’s Doctor Yellow made its last run on 28 and 29 January 2025, from Tokyo to Hakata and back, retired because of its age. Asahi, 2025

JR West’s Doctor Yellow was due to keep running until at least 2027. Japan News, 2025

A crowded station platform at night with people photographing a yellow bullet train in the distance, beside a white one — Crowds at Hakata on 28 January 2025, for JR Central’s Doctor Yellow on its final run.Picture: Takeshi Aida, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

Thinking of a bullet train of your own? model.railways.im explains scale and gauge before you choose a model.

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