Written by Keith Barrow, International Railway Journal; October 3, 2017
CENTRAL Japan Railway Company (JR Central) previewed its next generation Shinkansen train, the N700S, on October 1, when journalists were invited to view a driving car bodyshell and interior mock-ups at the Nippon Sharyo plant in Toyokawa in Aichi prefecture.
Energy consumption at 285km/h will be reduced by 7% compared with the N700A, which was introduced in 2013. At just 11 tonnes, the drive system will be 20% lighter thanks largely to a new-generation silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor, which JR Central has developed in partnership with Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, and Fuji Electric. JR Central claims these enhancements will give the N700S the lowest axleload of any high-speed train, at just 11 tonnes.
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