Ok what ive heard is that theyre replacing the E4 Series with the E5/E6 Series. Sincerely it was going to be the E7 Taking service down the Joetsu but they cancelled it.
The E4 was indeed originally planned to be replaced by the E5, but it was later decided to replace it with the E7 series to standardize the rolling stock on the northwestern group of shinkansen lines.
In fact, the Hokuriku Shinkansen is just a direct extension of the Nagano Shinkansen (name no longer used), wich is itself a branch of the Joetsu Shinkansen.
Standardizing rolling stock means easier, simpler, more efficient and cost-effective maintainance.
A similar treatment will be given to the Tohoku Shinkansen, replacing the remanining E2s with E5s.
Any word on the fate of the Komachi Bullet trains?
The
Komachi rather than a train itself, is a service: the one connecting Tokyo to Akita via the Tohoku and Akita shinkansen lines.
About the rolling stock, as of today (and for the forseeable future) the Akita shinkansen is formed by a 7-car E6 series (Tokyo-Akita) coupled to a 10-car E5 series (Tokyo-Morioka only).
Formerly it was operated by E3 series (5-car sets from 1997 to 1998, 6-car sets from 1998 onwards, retired in 2014) trains coupled with either a 10-car 200 series (from 1997 to 1999), 10-car E2 series (from 1997 until the E3 retirement in 2014) or with an 11-car E5 series (2009 to 2014).
Retired E3 series trains, starting from 2008, were refurbished, renumbered int the E3-2000 series and transferred to the Yamagata shinkasen (the other mini-shinkansen line) to replace the 400 series introduced with the line opening in 1992 (fully retired by 2010) and to supplement the E3-1000 series, wich were built especially for that line in 1999 when it was extended from Yamagata to Shinjo.
All of the E3s are still in service on Yamagata shinkansen duties, and after the 2014 refurbishment, there are no plans to replace them in the future.
Surplus E3s were also used for special shinkansen trains, namely the
Toreiyu Tsubasa and the
Genbi Shinkansen tourist trains.