JR Kyushu unveils new Kamome bullet train
KUDAMATSU, Japan - Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) has unveiled a new Shinkansen bullet train called Kamome to be used on the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen line scheduled to open next autumn.
The unveiling to the media was held Wednesday at the Kasado Works of Hitachi, Ltd. in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The new model was manufactured there based on the N700S, a next-generation Shinkansen series developed by Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai).
Kamome's exterior is mainly white, while the bottom is red as a nod to JR Kyushu's corporate color. It was designed by Eiji Mitooka, an industrial designer who worked on the luxury sleeper train Seven Stars in Kyushu.
Before the new Shinkansen line, which will run between Saga Prefecture's Takeo Onsen and Nagasaki stations, will go into operation, the railway company plans to build four Kamome trains, each of which will comprise six cars, and transfer them to a railroad depot in Nagasaki Prefecture.
