Abstract
Series 300 of Shinkansen trains was used as 'Nozomi express' in commercial, from the time of major train operation schedule change in March, 1998, until it retired on March 16, 2012.1n series 300, reducing the mass of the rolling stock was the most important point.The bolster less bogie was adopted in series 300, and as a result, the mass of 300 series bogie was reduced by 30 percent from that of 100 series. From the inspection on the hollow axis and bogie frame,no defects such as cracks have been observed for 20 years in service. We were certain that the bogie of series 300 had sufficient reliability. The results obtained in series 300 are fed back to the next development of Shinkansen aiming for higher reliability, and we will continue to conduct a research for the Safety and the Stability of shinkansen rolling stock.
