What happened with the 500-series Shinkansen?

[Bayum]

JNR originally developed the 0-Series - the image we all have of the original 'Shinkansen' train. White, blue stripe, streamlined etc. Production of further series 100 and 300 carried the same style - cuboidish and streamlined - and the white and blue livery. However, the 500 series was drastically different: cylindrical with a sharp nose cone, steel and blue. Move on to the N700 and subsequent series and the trains have reverted back to the cuboidal shape with the class white and blue livery.

What happened with the 500-series?

 

[yoyothehobo]

My guess is that it is to do with the sonic boom effect in the tunnel and the cylindrical shape preventing that at high speeds (300kph).

The later shapes also have the duck bill nose to prevent the boom effect, which i guess reduces the need for the cylindrical shape in the 500 series, which i guess is more expensive than the cuboid.

As for the colour schemes, who knows!

 

[Speed Whiskers]

The various Shinkansen feature in several episodes of "Japan Railway Journal" available in English from NHK World Japan. I've not looked at the episodes but spotted a couple about the 60th anniversary that may discuss the different series.

Japan Railway Journal | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Go behind the scenes of Japan's amazing railways. Interesting facts, new technologies, expert tips, plus where to go, how to get there and more!

www3.nhk.or.jp

 

[WideRanger]

When I first travelled on the Tokaido / Sanyo Shinkansen, the trains were a mixture of 100, 300 and 500 series. The 500 series felt and looked amazing.

As well as the introduction of the duck bill (as mentioned by @yoyothehobo), there was a positive decision to try to get the 16 car fleet as identical and interchangeable as possible. So whereas previously, the older trains would be used on slower Kodama services, there was an effort to have as many trains as possible to be as identical as possible (regardless of when built). This would allow short-notice substitution from one service to another - so a train that was planned to be used on a stopping Kodama service could, within a couple of minutes, we turned into a ultra fast Nozomi service. This would reduce costs and risks. The things that made the 500 series so special also made them not fit this model, which is why they were withdrawn or demoted to 8-car stopping services early.

 

[stuu]

I definitely remember reading that they were much more expensive and experimental, and they decided the changes weren't worth the money. Saw one at Osaka once, even more amazing in real life

 

[Bayum]

Thank you for the answers so far. What I’m getting at is why was there such a drastic change moving to the 500 and then away in terms of shape etc? I get the need for a more uniform fleet but why not have more 500-type looking vehicles than reverting back to something that looks more like the 0 and 300 series, albeit with a duck bill.

 

[notverydeep]

The 500 series Shinkansen, trains so cool they built platform extensions so you could take souvenir photos of your children with the front of the train as backdrop...

Superseded by a train that looks like a duck!

It wasn't just tourists who liked the 500 series. I saw many Japanese travellers using the platform extensions to look at the train and take photos. The kind of behaviour that would get you a tiresome lecture on security at St. Pancras!

I remember reading (at around the time the N700s were being introduced) that Japanese high speed engineers were very much concerned with noise and that the aerodynamic shapes were very much designed to mitigate this - I think it was as much noise impacting the line's neighbours as passengers. Other features designed for noise mitigation include the high pantograph shrouds on several types of Shinkansen train and also bogie shrouds - features that don't seem to have been copied elsewhere.

Oddly, from my memory of an early 2000s trip on an E4 series Shinkansen (the East Japan Railway double deck variant of the N700 duck shape), the internal noise level was higher than I expected and the ride quality at speed really quite harsh.

 

[WessexEclectic]

The design of the 500 series appears to have been overseen by the same guy that designed the German ICE - FWIW...

 

[Gostav]

Cylindrical body is not an efficient way to utilize the loading gauge, the interior space of the 500 series is obviously smaller than other types of Shinkansen trains. Although it's appearance is indeed distinctive, the imitation of airplane design that was popular in the past seems unnecessary now.

 

[Beebman]

I've very randomly just discovered a trip report video posted 9 days ago on the channel of a Tokyo-based Hawaiian vlogger called Tanner of a journey on one of the remaining 500 series which are still used on Kodama services between Shin Osaka and Hakata:

His caption:

I took a ride on the iconic 500 Series Shinkansen, one of the most famous bullet trains in Japan. This legendary train is known for its futuristic design, pointed nose, and high-speed performance. The 500 Series was once the fastest train in the world when it debuted, and it’s still a favorite among railfans, train spotters, and anyone interested in Japanese trains. But did you know it’s set to retire in 2027? This might be one of your last chances to ride the 500 Series Shinkansen before it disappears from Japan’s railway network forever. In this video, I take the 500 Series Kodama service from Shin-Osaka, showing what it’s like to ride this classic bullet train today. Whether you’re planning a Japan train trip, interested in Shinkansen history, or just love Japanese rail travel, this video gives you a real, unfiltered look at what it’s like inside the 500 Series now. If you’re searching for things like “500系新幹線,” “retiring bullet trains in Japan,” “best bullet trains to ride in Japan,” or “rare Shinkansen still in service,” this video is for you. Watch till the end to see why this train is still beloved by so many fans of Japan railways, and why it’s worth riding before the 2027 retirement date.

The video includes interior shots of the declassified former Green Car.

 

[TommyL4]

An underappreciated reason could be that the 500 series was developed solely by JR West and primarily tailored to the Sanyo Shinkansen (such as the max speed of 300km/h at the time), while the 700 and N700 series were jointly developed by JR Central and JR West.
Given the dominance of the Tokaido Shinkansen, it won't be surprising if JR West was treated as a more junior partner and had less say in the 700 series. An additional observation is that the latest N700S series was developed solely by JR Central.