Toward Creation of a Railway Car Meeting the 21st-Century Requirements - Development of AC Train

A research and development program focused on constructing a new e@train is incorporated in the Frontier 21 intermediate term business concept of JR East Group. New services are to be provided by the new e@train to allow improved safety, higher accuracy, and lower costs while meeting diversified passenger requirements. In order to to make the e@train concept a reality, JR East has been committed to the development of an Advanced Commuter Train (AC Train) car. A prototype car incorporating a great variety of technological elements has recently been completed. A variety of assessment tests are being performed on the car. An overview of the AC Train is given in this article.