JR 500 Shinkansen

The 500 series is a Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Sanyō Shinkansen lines in Japan. They were designed to be capable of 320 km/h (199 mph) although they currently operate at a maximum of 285 km/h in service. The running gear utilizes computer-controlled active suspension for a smoother, safer ride, and anti-yaw dampers are fitted between cars for improved stability. All sixteen cars in each train are powered, giving a maximum of 18.24 MW (24,460 hp). Each train costs an estimated 5 billion yen, and only nine were built.

They have long, pointed nose cones much more like that of a supersonic plane than that of a conventional high-speed train. In 1990, Hitachi commissioned Neumeister Design of Germany to create an exterior and interior design for a new 350 km/h shinkansen. This became the basis for the development of the 500 series.