The Essense of Shinkansen EMU technology Half a Century of Progress toward Higher Speeds

This book describes the following three stages; the development of the Shinkansen technology that enabled the Shinkansen to reach speeds of more than 200 km/h in a single stroke from the 100 km/h speed of Japan's railways, countermeasures against the problems after the Shinkansen began operation, such as those caused by airtight car bodies, natural disasters such as snow sticking to car bodies which broke window glass, and noise along the line, which were discovered. This is the first book in English to introduce the half-century progress in pursuing "faster” of the Shinkansen‘s electric multiple unit (EMU) technology that forms the heart of the Shinkansen.

The other is the development and practical application of technology to achieve a speed of 300 km/h by continuing to introduce completely new technology, not an extension of the conventional Shinkansen technology.

In this book, the author, who has been engaged in the front line of Shinkansen EMU design for many years and is thoroughly familiar with Shinkansen technology, clearly explains how they arrived at the measures to deal with various problems in the three stages, together with specific measures and data. One of the features of this book is that it covers not only the main mechanisms of EMU, such as traction motors, bogies, and power collectors, but also airtight structures, breakage-resistant window glass, and passenger seat structures for five passengers in a row, which are not often displayed in books on rolling stock.

This book is expected not only to inform readers who are related to and interested in high-speed rail technology about the progress of Shinkansen train technology, but also to provide engineers with the wisdom to move forward when they are stuck in development by knowing the process of the technology development in other technical field: high-speed passenger railways.