Shinkansen E8 Series

The E8 series is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type of the East Japan Railway Company that runs on Tsubasa services of the Yamagata Shinkansen, a mini-Shinkansen line between Shinjo and Fukushima, and continues to Tokyo over the Tōhoku Shinkansen where it is coupled with Yamabiko services run by E5 series trains. It replaces the E3 series and can run at up to 300 kilometres per hour on the Tōhoku Shinkansen, against 275 for the older train. Hitachi Rail and Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing are building 15 seven-car trainsets between 2022 and 2026, the first delivered on 30 January 2023, and the type entered revenue service on 16 March 2024. Designer Ken Okuyama drew the livery from Yamagata Prefecture, with white for the snow of Mount Zaō, and each set seats 355 passengers in Green Car and ordinary class. In June 2025 auxiliary power unit malfunctions on four sets led JR East to suspend their independent operation.