E3 Series Shinkansen

what is it?

The E3 series (Japanese: E3系) is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built for Komachi services introduced on 3 June 1997, coinciding with the opening of the new Akita Shinkansen, a so-called "mini-Shinkansen" line formed by regauging the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge line between Morioka and Akita to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge. Later variants of the E3 series were introduced for Tsubasa services on the Yamagata Shinkansen. Both mini-Shinkansen routes connect with the Tōhoku Shinkansen, providing through services to and from Tokyo.

who runs it

East Japan Railway CompanyNHNational High Speed Rail Corporation Limited

base stats

• speed 315 km/htop speed
• power 6 MWpower output
• built 261made in total

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 29 years ago, in 1997.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• ⏱️At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 8 minutes.
• 🚗6 MW is about 71 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
• 🧓Still in service after 29 years.

high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.

spec sheet

built

1997

in service from

1997

status

in service

number built

261

kind

high-speed train

traction

electric

origin

🇯🇵 Japan

builders

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan Transport Engineering Company

designer

Kenji Ekuan

operators

East Japan Railway Company, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited

top speed

315 km/h

power

6 MW

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

electric system

Overhead line:, 3, 3

formation

7 cars per trainset, 6 cars per trainset (until 2022), 5 cars per trainset (Akita Shinkansen only, until 1998)

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.