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2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. JR East Shinkansen E1(renewal): Sui-setz· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. JReastE1 Omiya 20120918: Rsa· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The E1 series (Japanese: E1系) was a Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan from July 1994 until September 2012. It was the first double-deck train type built for the Shinkansen network and, together with the later E4 series, was marketed under the name Max (an acronym for Multi-Amenity eXpress). A total of six 12-car trainsets were built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries between 1994 and 1995.
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 32 years ago, in 1994.
- Top speed is 1.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 10 minutes.
- 9.8 MW is about 116 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 26.1 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Seats 1,235: 25 full city buses (~50 seats each).
- Served for 18 years (1994–2012).
high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.
spec sheet
- built
- 1994
- in service from
- 1994
- retired
- 2012
- status
- retired
- number built
- 72
- kind
- high-speed train
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- operators
- East Japan Railway Company
- top speed
- 240 km/h
- power
- 9.8 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- formation
- 12 cars per trainset
- length
- 26.1 m
- capacity
- 1,235 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q567982, Wikipedia: E1 Series Shinkansen (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.