TOKYO - East Japan Railway Co. has unveiled the design of the new E927 inspection bullet train expected to be used for its shinkansen lines starting in fiscal 2029.
Nicknamed "Soar," the seven-car train with a white body emblazoned with green and red asymmetrical stripes will succeed the existing six-car East-i.
The new train, equipped with 48 cameras, can inspect the rails and overhead lines as it travels at a speed of up to 320 kilometers per hour, the same maximum speed as passenger bullet trains and faster than the 275 kph East-i.
Soar will be used on the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku shinkansen lines, as well as the Akita and Yamagata shinkansen lines, which share some sections with local trains.
It will also carry a newly developed device that estimates wheel and rail pressure and identifies which rail distortions need to be fixed first.
JR East said it plans to introduce automatic judgment technology using artificial intelligence to check the condition of rails and overhead lines in the future.
