Shinkansen 500 Series

The Shinkansen 500 Series is operated by JR West, which is officially known as the West Japan Railway Company. They introduced the train to handle high-speed travel on their main Sanyo Shinkansen line. It was engineered to drastically cut travel times between major Japanese cities.

The 500 Series is capable of achieving commercial operating speeds up to 320 km/h (approximately 200 mph). When it debuted in the late 1990s, it was the fastest passenger train in regular commercial service in the world. This incredible speed allowed it to connect Shin-Osaka and Hakata in record time.

The 500 Series was officially introduced in 1997 to meet the demanding travel schedules of the Sanyo Shinkansen route. Its futuristic, elongated, and pointed aerodynamic nose was heavily inspired by advanced Japanese aviation research. The unique, sleek design was directly created to minimize sonic booms when passing through tunnels.

The 500 Series was retired from primary high-speed Nozomi services in 2010 because it was less energy-efficient and more expensive to maintain than newer models. However, several 500 Series trainsets were downgraded to the slower Kodama services for several more years. Today, a single 8-car modified set remains in operation as a special Hello Kitty themed train.