Design
The front-end styling of these units consisted of a 'curved wedge', replacing the aircraft-style nose-cones of previous Shinkansen trains. The furthest forward point was the very bottom of the pilot. They were painted brilliant white with a medium-thick blue stripe beneath the windows.
They were only formed as sixteen-car sets and had no restaurant cars, though they did originally feature two refreshment counters (later removed).
Technically, they are notable for being the first Shinkansen sets to employ three-phase AC traction motors instead of direct current units, as well as new bolsterless bogies to reduce weight.
The 300 series was awarded the Laurel Prize in May 1993.
Read more about this topic: 300 Series Shinkansen
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