2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. E956S13Sendai: N100teda· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. JRE Series E956-1 S13: MaedaAkihiko· CC0
what is it?
The Class E956 (Japanese: E956形), branded "ALFA-X", is a ten-car experimental Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan capable of operating at up to 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) to test technologies for future trains capable of operating at speeds of up to 360 kilometres per hour (225 mph). The name is an acronym for "Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail eXperimentation". The train was unveiled on 9 May 2019.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 7 years ago, in 2019.
- Top speed is 3.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 6 minutes.
- 12 MW is about 141 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 26.3 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.
spec sheet
- built
- 2019
- in service from
- 2019
- number built
- 10
- kind
- high-speed train
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing
- operators
- East Japan Railway Company
- top speed
- 400 km/h
- power
- 12 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- formation
- 10 cars
- length
- 26.3 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q33111832, Wikipedia: ALFA-X (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.