Come Spring 2011 Japan will add another Shinkansen model to it's already impressive lineup. The E5 Series Shinkansen will be put to work by JR East and run from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori in just over 3 hours eventually reaching speeds of 320 kilometers per hour.
(https://www.actbus.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jamaipanese.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F06%2Fe5-series-shinkansen.jpg&hash=fc01aeee7876f07ddb16942cdfbde461248bcbef)
E5 Series Shinkansen meeting the press
the long 15 meter platypus-like nose is is designed to reduce noise when entering tunnels and as can be seen above the entire aluminium alloy body will be mostly painted green and white with a pink stripe. This is one good looking train but the design of the N700 is still my favourite. Check the video below for a better veiw of the E5 Series Shinkansen including on the track action and testing.
Source: http://www.jamaipanese.com/e5-series-shinkansen-japan/ (http://www.jamaipanese.com/e5-series-shinkansen-japan/)
Ｅ５系 走行動画！ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh44DkbjdJw#ws-lq-lq2-hq-vhq-hd)
My gosh, that's insane! I can't imagine how big the ugly stick would need to be to make that thing!
Thanks for posting that, for some reason it just did not want me to post it :P
And John, it may be ugly but hell is it practical. The whole nose design minimises Tunnel Boom. It is insane, and I reckon one of the best looking Shinkansen designs. My favourite is still the Nozomi 500 series with JR West.