N700S Series Shinkansen

JR Central

A 16-car prototype set (J0), assembled at the Nippon Sharyo Toyokawa plant, was unveiled at JR Central's Hamamatsu depot on 10 March 2018.^[6] From 20 March, this set was used for testing and evaluation.^[6] High-speed trials at the design speed of 360 km/h (224 mph) were conducted during 2019 on the Tokaido Shinkansen, reaching a maximum speed of 363 km/h (226 mph).^[11] This is 28 km/h (17 mph) faster than the fastest speed ever achieved by the N700A, and may indicate plans to raise the maximum operating speed on the line.^[2]

The first full-production J set (J1) was delivered to JR Central in April 2020, with trains entering revenue service on 1 July 2020.^[8]

JR Central announced in May 2022 that it would add 19 trainsets (304 vehicles) to their current N700S fleet at a cost of 114 billion yen ($897m).^[12][4] The first two of these trainsets are scheduled to enter service in 2023, with seven trainsets delivered in 2024 and 2025, and three more delivered in 2026.^[4]

In June 2024, JR Central announced that the Doctor Yellow inspection trains would be replaced by stock-standard N700S trainsets with special monitoring equipment from 2027.^[13]

In January 2026, JR Central announced that they would begin to introduce private rooms on N700S Nozomi trains starting in October 2026. Two private rooms will initially be offered on selected services, each seating one or two passengers. The rooms will be priced higher than green car seats. It will mark the first time that private rooms will be available on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen since the retirement of the 100 Series Shinkansen in 2003. JR Central has also planned to introduce semi-private rooms in fiscal year 2028.^[14]

JR Kyushu

As of December 2024^[update], the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen is operated by a fleet of five 6-car JR Kyushu N700S series trainsets.

For the commencement of the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, four 6-car N700S series trainsets were ordered by JR Kyushu.^[15][16] Nicknamed "Kamome", these entered service in September 2022.^[17][18] Two trains are required during the day, with three trains in operation in the afternoon/evening. One train is kept as a spare.

In August 2023, another 6-car set was delivered to allow for one train to be out of service during regular inspections.^[19]

16-car J sets

The J sets were the first to be introduced, and include the pre-series J0 set used for testing between 2018 and 2020.

16-car H sets (N700S-3000 series)

These are 16-car N700S series sets owned by JR West and classified as N700S-3000 series sets.

Gallery

6-car Y sets (N700S-8000 series)

These are 6-car N700S series sets owned by JR Kyushu and classified as N700S-8000 series sets. Five sets provide service on the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen.^[23]: 197

The design of the variant was done by Eiji Mitooka, who had previously designed several trains for JR Kyushu.^[27] He could not make any modifications to the exterior shape or equipment. He sought to make the ride "more fun and relaxing" through the inclusion of colors and shapes to the train's design. He presented JR Kyushu with four livery concepts, with a red and white one being chosen. Headlights were given black outlines and the center of the nose was painted black in order to have the front of the train resemble a face. The interior is also decorated with illustrations made by Mitooka.

These sets do not feature Green Car (first class) accommodation. In regular service, cars 1-3 are reserved seat cars, and cars 4-6 are non-reserved seat cars. Seats on cars 1–3 are arranged in four wide (2+2) abreast configuration instead of a five wide (2+3) configuration seen in normal reserved cars of JR West and JR Central N700S variants, and similar to reserved seat cars on JR Kyushu's N700 series sets. This was done to make the Shinkansen more attractive to tourists.^[27]