Fastech 360

Fastech 360 is the name given to a pair of former experimental high-speed trainsets developed by East Japan Railway Company, JR East, to test technology for the next generation of Shinkansen rolling stock. The name is a portmanteau of Fast, Technology and 360 km/h, the target operating speed for production trains, and speeds of up to 405 km/h were targeted in testing. The Class E954 Fastech 360S was an eight-car set for Shinkansen tracks only, delivered on 26 June 2005, with cars 1 to 3 built by Hitachi and cars 4 to 8 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The Class E955 Fastech 360Z was a six-car set for both Shinkansen and Mini-shinkansen lines, delivered on 6 April 2006, with cars 2 and 3 built by Hitachi and the rest by Kawasaki. Emergency air braking plates like those of an aircraft earned them the nickname Nekomimi Shinkansen, the cat-eared Shinkansen. Both sets were withdrawn and scrapped by 2009, and the results of testing went into the E5 and E6 series.