E6 Series Shinkansen

The E6 series (E6系) is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on Komachi "mini-shinkansen" services on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen from Tokyo to Akita since 16 March 2013. A pre-series set was delivered in June 2010 for extensive testing, with 23 full-production sets delivered between November 2012 and spring 2014.

Operations
The 7-car E6 series trains operate in conjunction with E5 series or H5 series (since March 2016) 10-car trains, initially on just four return services daily from 16 March 2013. They replaced all of the previous E3 series trains on Komachi services by 15 March 2014.

Design
Technology incorporated in these trains is derived from the experimental Fastech 360Z train previously tested by JR East. The E6 series trains are formed of seven cars, to provide the same seating capacity as six-car E3 series trains, due to the reduced seating capacity in the end cars. All cars feature active suspension with tilting up to 1.5 degrees.

Pre-production set S12
The pre-series train, numbered "S12" (later becoming "Z1"), was formed as follows, with car 11 at the Tokyo end and car 17 at the Morioka end.


 * Car 11 provides Green (first class) accommodation.
 * Cars 12 and 16 are each fitted with a single-arm pantograph. Like the E5 series, only one pantograph is normally used in service.
 * Cars 11 to 14 were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and cars 15 to 17 were built by Hitachi.

Full-production sets Z2–
The full-production trains, numbered "Z2" onward, are formed as follows, with car 11 at the Tokyo end and car 17 at the Morioka end.


 * Car 11 provides Green (first class) accommodation.
 * Cars 12 and 16 are each fitted with a single-arm pantograph.

Exterior
The overall styling was overseen by Japanese industrial designer Ken Okuyama, and is intended to evoke images of the Namahage demons and kantō festival lanterns for which Akita Prefecture is famous. The main body colour is "Hiun" (飛雲) white with crimson roof and "arrow silver" bodyside stripe. The end cars are 23075 mm long with the tapered nose accounting for approximately 13 m (compared with approximately 6 m for the E3 series).

Interior
The new trains feature similar improvements to passenger accommodation as featured on the E5 series trains, including AC power outlets, and security cameras in vestibule areas. Seating in both Standard class and Green (first class) cars is in the standard 2+2 arrangement for mini-shinkansen trains. Seat pitch is 1160 mm in Green class and 980 mm in Standard class, the same as for the E3 series trains. Cars 12, 13, 14, and 16 are equipped with toilets. The toilet in car 12 is universal access.

History
The pre-series set, S12, was delivered to Sendai Depot in June 2010, and formally accepted by JR East on 8 July. Test running commenced on the Tohoku Shinkansen in July 2010.

The first full-production set was delivered in November 2012, with production continuing until spring 2014.

Revenue service commenced on 16 March 2013 on new Super Komachi services, running at a maximum speed of 300 km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen. From 15 March 2014, the maximum speed was raised to 320 km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen, with the maximum speed on the Akita Shinkansen tracks remaining at 130 km/h, allowing journey times between Tokyo and Akita to be reduced by an average of 12 minutes. The service name was also returned to simply Komachi.

In May 2014, the E6 series was awarded the 2014 Laurel Prize, presented annually by the Japan Railfan Club. The award presentation ceremony was held at Akita Station on 8 November 2014.

Fleet list
, 24 sets were in service, as shown below. Set Z9 was withdrawn in April 2022 following damage sustained from the 2022 Fukushima earthquake.

While the first sets from both Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries were delivered by sea to Sendai, set Z9 was delivered from the Kawasaki Heavy Industries factory in Kobe by rail to Akita Depot over three days from 31 May to 2 June 2013, mounted on temporary narrow-gauge (1,067 mm gauge) bogies and hauled by freight locomotives. This was followed by set Z11 from 21 to 23 June 2013.

Accidents and incidents
E6 series set Z9, coupled with H5 series set H2 operating as Yamabiko 223 bound for Sendai derailed during the 2022 Fukushima earthquake while traveling between Fukushima and Shiroishi-Zaō stations. There were no injuries on board.