"300X" was the name given to the 6-car experimental Shinkansen

Shinkansen

The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...

 train developed in 1994 by the Central Japan Railway Company

Central Japan Railway Company

The is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as . Its headquarters are located in the JR Central Towers in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.The company's operational hub is Nagoya Station...

 (JR Central) in Japan to test technology to be incorporated in future shinkansen trains operating at speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph) or higher.

Design

Manufacture of the train was shared among four different manufacturers, with a number of different body construction methods used. The two ends cars employed differing nose designs, and a number of pantograph shroud designs were tested over the lifetime of the trainset.

Formation

Car No.	1	2	3	4	5	6
Designation	Mc	M	M	M	M	Mc
Numbering	955-1	955-2	955-3	955-4	955-5	955-6
Weight (t Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... )	36	36	36	32	36	36

Cars 2 and 5 were fitted with pantographs

Pantograph (rail)

A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...

.

955-1

End car with "cusp" nose design, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

. The body was constructed of rivetted Duralumin

Duralumin

Duralumin is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The main alloying constituents are copper, manganese, and magnesium. A commonly used modern equivalent of this alloy type is AA2024, which contains 4.4% copper, 1.5% magnesium, 0.6% manganese and 93.5%...

. This car had no passenger seats.

955-2

The body was constructed by Nippon Sharyo

Nippon Sharyo

, , formed in 1896, is a major rolling stock manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan. In 1996, it abbreviated its name to "日本車両" Nippon Sharyō. Its shortest abbreviation is Nissha "日車". It was a listed company on Nikkei 225 until 2004. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Nagoya Stock Exchange...

 using large hollow aluminium extrusions. This was the only car in the trainset to be fitted with passenger seats.

955-3

This vehicle was constructed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries

is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....

 using spot-welded large aluminium extrusions, and was fitted with active tilting.

955-4

This vehicle was constructed by Nippon Sharyo using large hollow aluminium extrusions, similar to car 2, and was equipped with large side doors for installing and removing test equipment.

955-5

This vehicle was constructed by Hitachi

Hitachi

Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...

 using aluminium honeycomb panels. This car had no seats.

955-6

Hitachi-built end car with "wedge" nose design. The body was constructed of brazed aluminium honeycomb panels.

History

The train was unveiled on 22 December 1994

Test-running on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen was delayed by track damage caused by the Great Hanshin earthquake

Great Hanshin earthquake

The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...

 in January 1995, but full-scale test-running commenced on 25 May 1995, between Maibara

Maibara Station

is a train station in Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is the southern terminus of the West Japan Railway Company Hokuriku Main Line, and the boundary of control between JR West and JR Central over the Tōkaidō Main Line....

 and Kyoto

Kyoto Station

is the most important transportation hub in Kyoto, Japan. It has Japan's second-largest train station building and is one of the country's largest buildings, incorporating a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, Isetan department store, and several local government facilities under one 15-story roof...

.

On 21 September 1995, the Class 955 train recorded a maximum speed of 354.1 km/h (220 mph) on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Maibara and Kyoto.

On 11 July 1996, the train recorded a maximum speed of 426.6 km/h (265.1 mph), exceeding the previous national speed record of 425 km/h (264.1 mph) set in December 1993 by JR East's Class 952/953 "STAR21"

STAR21

"STAR21" was the name given to the 9-car experimental Shinkansen train developed in 1992 by the East Japan Railway Company in Japan to test technology to be incorporated in next-generation shinkansen trains operating at speeds of or higher...

 experimental train.

On 26 July 1996, the train recorded a Japanese national speed record of 443 km/h (275.3 mph) on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Maibara and Kyoto. This record still stands as of May 2011.

The Class 955 trainset was officially withdrawn on 1 February 2001.

Preservation

End car 955-1 is preserved outdoors at the RTRI large-scale wind tunnel test facility in Maibara, Shiga

Maibara, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.As of August 1, 2006, the city has an estimated population of 42,154. The total area is 223.1 km².- History :...

. End car 955-6 was initially preserved inside JR Central's Hamamatsu Works, and was moved to the new SCMaglev and Railway Park in 2010.