International Railroad Discussion > Shinkansen series E6 at Akita

Akita is the terminus of the Akita Shinkansen (line) from Morioka.
The Akita Shinkansen line is a "mini-shinkansen", meaning it is a converted narrow gauge line, rather than a new build. It therefore has a smaller loading gauge & has special build trains to suit - the E6 is the current train - introduced from March 2013.

As well as being of smaller profile, the trains is also only 7 cars, including 1 Green car (first class). In photo 3, the dark squares below the doors are footboards the raise at standard Shinkansen station platforms to bridge the gap.

At Akita station, half of one platform (2 faces) has been converted to standard gauge for the Shinkansen service, with buffer stops in the centre. The other half still services narrow gauge trains.

Photos 1 & 2: E6 series Set Z14 after arrival on Komachi #1, 0632hrs ex Tokyo

Photo 3: Set Z13 after arrival on Komachi #9, 0908hrs ex Tokyo

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Thanks! Looks like the Japanese railfans have a lot to enjoy on train designs. This new speedboat design, found on "normal" Shinkansen too, somehow seems to overmake the need for crash resistance. Of course it must be very effective achieving its target.

Stephenloco Wrote:
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> As well as being of smaller profile, the trains
> is also only 7 cars, including 1 Green car (first
> class). In photo 3, the dark squares below the
> doors are footboards the raise at standard
> Shinkansen station platforms to bridge the gap.

Here's a video of the footboards retracting as Hayabusa & Komachi #6 depart Sendai for Tokyo. The footboards extract/retract on both sides based on the speed of the train, this based on my observations of both arriving and departing E6s when I visited Japan several times last year.

Nothing fancy or gimmicky, no sensors, no GPS, no need to know which side the platform is, or anything too smart or clever to make the system too complex and increase chances for malfunctions or failures. I think this is a lesson in the KISS principle.

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cchan006 Wrote:
The footboards extract/retract on both sides based on
> the speed .......
>
> Nothing fancy or gimmicky, no sensors, no GPS, no
> need to know which side the platform is, or
> anything too smart or clever to make the system
> too complex and increase chances for malfunctions
> or failures. I think this is a lesson in the KISS
> principle.

Well, yes -- but there has to be "something" [ or "someone" ] to tell the door system "where" the train is so that the footboards don't extend at those stations where they are not needed, such as the terminus illustrated. If all of the platforms on the regauged line are uniform, the problem is pretty simplified, especially if there are other differences with the "main line" such as voltage or [ unlikely ] signalling -- a single selector switch and a wayside sign should do it. Do any of the intermediate stations on this line have dual gauge platforms, I wonder ?

Best, SZ [ who wonders if there is interlocking so that if a footboard doesn't extend when it should for some reason the associated door doesn't open...... ]

Steinzeit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cchan006 Wrote:
> The footboards extract/retract on both sides
> based on
> > the speed .......
> >
> > Nothing fancy or gimmicky, no sensors, no GPS,
> no
> > need to know which side the platform is, or
> > anything too smart or clever to make the system
> > too complex and increase chances for
> malfunctions
> > or failures. I think this is a lesson in the
> KISS
> > principle.
>
> Well, yes -- but there has to be "something" [ or
> "someone" ] to tell the door system "where" the
> train is so that the footboards don't extend at
> those stations where they are not needed, such as
> the terminus illustrated. If all of the platforms
> on the regauged line are uniform, the problem is
> pretty simplified, especially if there are other
> differences with the "main line" such as voltage
> or [ unlikely ] signalling -- a single selector
> switch and a wayside sign should do it. Do any
> of the intermediate stations on this line have
> dual gauge platforms, I wonder ?
>
> Best, SZ [ who wonders if there is interlocking
> so that if a footboard doesn't extend when it
> should for some reason the associated door doesn't
> open...... ]

This is secondhand information, but I believe the engineer can put the E6 set in either Shinkansen mode, or Zairai-sen ("standard gauge") mode in the cockpit, to make sure accidental 200 mph throttle application doesn't happen in standard gauge mode. I suspect that's how the mechanism decides NOT to operate the footboards on the Zairai-sen lines. My information needs to be verified, of course.