Shinkansen 300 Series passing through Maibara Station, April 2002
The 300 Series Shinkansen high-speed trainsets for Japan's Shinkansen dedicated high-speed railways were introduced in 1992 on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines for use on the fastest Nozomi services, being capable of 270 km/h (168 mph). As more were delivered (66 trains by 1998) they replaced earlier units on Hikari service and allowed the thus displaced 100 Series units to finally in turn displace 0 Series units on almost all services.
The styling of these units is something of a 'curved wedge' at the front, replacing the aircraft-style nosecones of previous Shinkansen trains. The furthest forward point is the very bottom of the pilot. They are painted brilliant white with a medium-thick blue stripe beneath the windows.
They are only found in sixteen car sets and have no restaurant cars , though they do contain two refreshment counters.
Technically, they are notable for being the first Shinkansen sets to employ three-phase AC traction motors instead of direct current units.
