ALFA-X
Sign in to saveAlso known as Class E956
The , branded "ALFA-X", is a ten-car experimental Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan capable of operating at up to to test technologies for future trains capable of operating at speeds of up to . The name is an acronym for "Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail eXperimentation". The train was unveiled on 9 May 2019. Test runs are conducted primarily on sections of the Tōhoku Shinkansen between Sendai and Shin-Aomori, and occasionally on the Hokkaido Shinkansen. ==Design== The ALFA-X experimental trainset is being tested at
Key facts
- Train.yearservice
- 9 May 2019
- Train.numberbuilt
- 10 cars
- Train.name
- Class E956 "ALFA-X"
- Train.image
- JRE Series E956-1 S13.jpg
- Train.caption
- ALFA-X train near Oyama Station
- Train.service
- 2019–
- Train.manufacturer
- Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- Train.numberservice
- 10 cars (1 set)
- Train.formation
- 10 cars
- Train.fleetnumbers
- S13
- Train.operator
- JR East
- Train.lines
- Tōhoku Shinkansen
- Train.traction
- 4 × motors per car
- Train.collectionmethod
- Pantograph
via Wikipedia infobox
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Design
- History
- E10 Series Shinkansen
- Wireless communication experiment
- In media
- References
- External links
The , branded "ALFA-X", is a ten-car experimental Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan capable of operating at up to to test technologies for future trains capable of operating at speeds of up to . The name is an acronym for "Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail eXperimentation". The train was unveiled on 9 May 2019. Test runs are conducted primarily on sections of the Tōhoku Shinkansen between Sendai and Shin-Aomori, and occasionally on the Hokkaido Shinkansen. ==Design== The ALFA-X experimental trainset is being tested at speeds of up to to evaluate technologies intended for future trains operating in revenue service at speeds of up to . These include vibration-damping systems designed to reduce oscillation and the risk of derailment during major earthquakes, as well as body designs intended to reduce snow adhesion. Some design features have not been publicly disclosed in order to protect ongoing technical research.
Much of the design changes and experimentation conducted with the ALFA-X focuses on reducing noise at very high operating speeds.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “ALFA-X” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.