Taiwan High Speed 700T train

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A THSR 700-T train.

The Taiwan High Speed 700T train (台灣高鐵700T型電聯車) is a type of Shinkansen rolling stock built for Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR). The 700T series is based on the Japanese 700 Series Shinkansen and the "T" came from the specification for THSR. The 700T series marks the first time Japanese shinkansen trains have been exported overseas. The trains are manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Nippon Sharyo, and Hitachi, Ltd., and all of the preliminary 30 consists were built in Japan.

1 History
2 Features
3 Specifications
4 External links

[edit] History

On January 30, 2004, a roll-out ceremony was conducted at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Hyogo Works. The 700T series completed a 315 km/h test in Taiwan on October 30, 2005. The final train has been delivered to Taiwan, and multiple train running and final system integration testing began in March 2006. Commercial operation of the 700T began on January 5, 2007, at an operation speed of 300 km/h.

[edit] Features

Although the Taiwan High Speed 700T series is based on the 700 Series Shinkanen currently operating on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Sanyō Shinkansen, the following differences exist between the two types of stock:

To account for the expected number of users, the 700T has 12 cars in each set instead of the 16-car, or 8-car, formations found in Japanese services.

To permit 300 km/h operations, the 700T series has more powerful motors, and two sets of eddy current brake equipment are provided on each trailer (non-motored) axle.

The Taiwanese railway infrastructure is based on the European system, making tunnel diameters larger than those in Japan, which allows the train nose length to be shortened without causing a degradation in the aerodynamic (pressure pulse) performance when entering tunnels. Thus the 700T series features a new shorter nose on the front car, which allows passenger capacity to be maximised, and provides the 700T trainset with a distinctive appearance. To further enhance space provided for passengers, crew entry through the passenger doors was selected, allowing the dedicated crew doors behind the crew compartments to be removed.

Door control has been modified to allow crew control at stations from any car of the train, and the doors have been provided with the ability to automatically reopen if an obstacle is detected in the doorway during the closing sequence.

Further enhancements include: a battery supplied emergency ventilation system, fire detection and smoke control systems, selection of interior materials to contemporary fire safety standards, fire barriers and emergency escape windows in each car, and a bogie instability detection system.

For passengers in wheelchairs, a more spacious toilet facility is provided in one car, which allows a full 360-degree wheelchair manoeuvre within the toilet cubicle.