West Japan Railway, or JR West, has announced that its 500-series Shinkansen bullet trains, once among the fastest trains in the world, will be retired in 2027 due to their obsolescence.
The 500 series debuted in March 1997 on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line, connecting the two terminals, Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture and Hakata Station in Fukuoka Prefecture, as “Nozomi” trains.
It was later also introduced on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, which connects Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka, to provide seamless service between Tokyo and Hakata. Trains of the series at the time operated at a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour.
In 1997, the 500 series was recognized by Guinness World Records as the “fastest train journey” between two adjacent stations. The train traveled between Hiroshima and Kokura stations on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line at an average speed of 261.8 km/h (162 mph).
The 500 series was retired as Nozomi in late February 2010. Currently, the 500 series, which is still popular among train enthusiasts partly because of its stylish exterior, including a very long nose, is operated as “Kodama” trains, which stop at every station on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line.
Designs from Hello Kitty characters and the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion were adopted for some 500 trains.
At a press conference on Wednesday, JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa praised the 500 series for “creating an era” in Shinkansen history.
JR West also plans to introduce new N700S Shinkansen trains.
