500 Series Shinkansen
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Image:Shinkansen 500 Kyoto 2005-03-19.jpg Image:500 Series Shinkansen inside.jpg
The 500 Series Shinkansen are the fastest, most powerful and most expensive trainsets yet to run on Japan's Shinkansen high-speed rail network. They are designed to be capable of 320 km/h (200 mph) although they currently operate at a maximum of 300 km/h (186 mph) in service. The running gear utilises computer-controlled active suspension for a smoother, safer ride. All sixteen cars in each train are powered, giving a maximum of 18.24 MW of power (25,000 hp). Each train costs an estimated ¥5 billion, or over US$40 million; because of that pricetag, only nine have been built.
The first entered service in 1995 and the last of the nine in 1998. They are usually only used on the premium Nozomi services.
Visually they are quite striking, with a long, pointed needle nose more like that of a supersonic plane than a conventional high speed train. In 1990, Hitachi commissioned Neumeister Design of Germany to create a design for a new Shinkansen. It became the basis for the development of the Nozomi 500.