200 Series Shinkansen

Design

The 200 Series Shinkansen was built for the mountainous Tōhoku and Jōetsu lines, which have steeper gradients and heavy snowfall. To handle these conditions, the trains were lighter and more powerful than the earlier 0 Series, which they resembled in styling, though some later units adopted the pointed 'shark nose' from the 100 Series. They came equipped with small snowplows and snow-protected equipment. This model was the first Shinkansen type to win the Japan Railfan Club's 23rd Laurel Prize, sharing the honor with one other recipient.

Initially painted ivory with a green window band and lower bodyside band, some sets were refurbished from 1999 with a white-upper, dark blue-lower paint scheme and new wrap-around cab windows. Early units reached 210 km/h, later ones 240 km/h, and four were modified for 275 km/h.

Certain units received retractable couplers in the nose to connect with Mini-shinkansen sets like the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa and Akita Shinkansen Komachi. Later sets included double-deck cars, with semi-open standard-class compartments on the lower deck and green class seating above. Withdrawal of earlier units began in 1997, and the last unrefurbished set was retired in May 2007.

Variants

Since their introduction in 1982, the 200 series sets operated in several formations. Twelve-car sets for Tōhoku Shinkansen Yamabiko and Aoba services and for Jōetsu Shinkansen Asahi and Toki services had a maximum speed of 210 km/h and remained in service until early 1993. The 12-car 200-1000 series sets, introduced in November 1983, had a maximum speed of 240 km/h. From March 1990, four selected 12-car F sets (F90–F93) were upgraded to run at 275 km/h on a small number of down Asahi services; these 275 km/h services were discontinued from 1998 with the introduction of E2 series trains, and the F90 sets were subsequently used interchangeably with other 240 km/h F sets.

F sets (1983–2007)

Some F sets had driving trailer cars with a pointed nose and a solid green line, unlike H sets which had two green lines. The 12-car F sets had car 11 as a Green (first class) car and car 9 with a buffet counter; cars 2, 4, 10, and 12 each had one cross-arm pantograph (cars 3, 5, 7, and 9 for sets F90-93). One F set, F17, was modified at Sendai Depot between August 1997 and January 1998 for use on Nagano Shinkansen Asama services during the 1998 Winter Olympics, renumbered F80.

Modifications included operation on both 25 kV AC 50 Hz and 60 Hz overhead power, weight-saving to comply with a 16 tonne axle load restriction, and additional control equipment for the 30‰ gradient; maximum speed was limited to 210 km/h on the Nagano Shinkansen. Seats in cars 1 and 12 were replaced with E2 series-style seats. After February 1998, set F80 was used interchangeably with other F sets and remained in operation until 2004. Ten-car, and later eight-car, sets formed from earlier 12-car E sets entered service from 18 April 1987 with a maximum speed of 210 km/h.

Special event train services

Set K47, a ten-car formation, was repainted in its original ivory and green colors for a special Yamabiko 931 service on June 23, 2007, running from Omiya to Morioka to celebrate the Tohoku Shinkansen's 25th anniversary. Five years later, on June 23, 2012, the same set operated a Yamabiko 235 service for the 30th anniversary. Later that year, on November 17, it ran as Toki 395 from Omiya to Niigata for the Joetsu Shinkansen's 30th anniversary.

After regular 200 series service ended on March 16, 2013, set K47 ran a Sayonara Yamabiko from Morioka to Tokyo on March 30. An Arigato 200 series service traveled from Sendai to Ueno on April 13. Finally, on April 14, 2013, set K47 made two last runs: from Niigata to Tokyo and from Omiya to Niigata, marking the 200 series' final public operation.

Did You Know?

• Set K25 was officially withdrawn on 25 March 2005.
• The 200 series was the first Shinkansen type to receive the Laurel Prize from the Japan Railfan Club.