Train fans bid farewell to Nozomi bullet train service

Why isn't it being used anymore?

She was sexy, she was fast, she was German (on the outside)

too bad the girl was too expensive to acquire and high maintenance. She is definitely my favourite over the all too common duckbill mistress. But remeber that this is not a goodbye to the 500-kei. She is just being relegatred to full time Hikari railstar runs over the Sanyo line.

didnt think the ole nozomi was that old........or is it just the 500series or...

and the saddest thing of all is that, I never got to ride her while she was still doing 300kph over the Sanyo tracks :(

its just expensive to maintain? what are they replacing it with. What a vague article.

JT Mod/Editor

The Nozomi model train will not be used on the JR Sanyo Shinkansen line running between Shin-Osaka and Hakata as the Kodama.

Shouldn't this read: "The Nozomi model train will NOW be used..."? Asis the statement makes no sense.

Moderator: Thank you. The typo has been fixed.

Alexander Neumeister is a legend of train designs, just look at the other works he did like for the German ICE 3 bullet trains. He makes sex run on rails.

Japan Today, you need to do more research. JR West is the owner of all 500 Series Shinkansen sets. JR East has nothing to do with the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen lines. The reason they'll no longer be operating is the Tokaido Shink is owned by JR Tokai, and the 500's are considered non-standard for their operations.

There is also no such "train type" as either Nozomi/Hikari/Kodama. They refer to the stopping patterns of the services offered on this route.

Bad reporting, bad job.

yeah this is confusing to say the least guess that is what happens when someone is guessing as they translate.

Glad I at least got a clip of video of one operating when I was there in January.

Can someone fix the grammar in this article? It hurts my head just reading it:

Some 1,500 train hobbyists, a few of whom had begun gathering at 5 a.m. that morning to secure the best spot for snapping photos, crowded the platform to bid farewell to the popular train.

The Nozomi model train along with the Kodama will now be used on the JR Sanyo Shinkansen line running between Shin-Osaka and Hakata.

There were very few 500-series running anyway, almost all Nozomi runs were with newer stock. And why mention JR East? Nozomi service is JR West, not JR East.

Why are they retiring it? Is it too expensive to run? If so, why is it cheaper to run the same trains on a different line?

OK, I get it. Despite the headline, fans are not in fact saying goodbye to the Nozomi train service, but specifically to the 500 series train model. (As someone noted above, "nozomi" is not a model but a service.) Phew, for a second there I thought I'd have to take the Hikari or Kodama service on my next trip...

They went there at 5am to take photos of a train!? hahaha

It's not really farewell, is it?

The zero shinkansen series was retired from Kodama service, the 500 series went into replace the Kodama services on the Sanyo Shinkansen.

There was only 1 500 series train set still running as a Nozomi, it has now been replaced with the newer N700 series train.

Beautiful train, much better looking than some of the newer models.

@netrek. Japanese train geeks is a powerful militant sect, didnt you know that? hehe.

As someone who lives in the boonies in Western Japan, this train will continue to be a regular feature here at least...wonder how many train enthusiasts from Tokyo (et al) will contribute to the local economy by traveling here to see it?

Why can't we have trains like this in Canada & the US?? I've always been a big fan of Japanese industrial might. As a Canadian taking a break in East Africa, it would be absolutely AMAZING to have a train network going from Eastern Canada all the way to the West coast (Vancouver, BC). It would stop off at the major cities along the way and really make Canada feel a little more connected. VIA Rail's trains are slooooooow compared to the Bullet. In Africa, I envision a train network going from East (Indian ocean coast) to West (Atlantic ocean) and connecting to major cities along the way. Imagine the economic growth. We should also have a train network going from North Africa all the way down to Capetown in South Africa -- on the East cost. Imagine how scenic this would be.