Built for speed
The world’s fastest in-service train just keeps getting faster. The latest version of Japan Railway’s famous Shinkansen, known around the world as the Bullet Train, reaches speeds of 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).
As the first Shinkansen with tilting capability to allow it to corner at even higher speeds than its predecessors, the N700 covers the 550 km between Tokyo and Osaka in just 2 hours and 25 minutes.
While riding Shinkansen N700 is a smooth and almost totally silent experience for those on board, attaining such speeds while carrying more than 1,300 passengers and with a total weight of over 700 tonnes inevitably entails considerable vibration.
To ensure that bolts do not vibrate loose, the manufacturers of the N700 turned to Nord-Lock washers after being impressed by their performance in a Junkers vibration test. Previous Shinkansen models used other bolt-securing solutions such as tab washers, locking wire and locking nuts. But with tens of thousands of bolts to tighten on each train, using Nord-Lock means simpler assembly as well as safer bolt securing.
Customer: Hitachi, Kawasaki HI, Nippon Sharyo
Top speed: 300 km/h
Weight: 715 tonnes
Capacity: 1,323 passengers
Total length: 400 m
Power output: 17.08 MW
