JR Central unveils 1st battery-powered bullet train

NAGOYA. KAZINFORM Central Japan Railway Co. conducted a test run Wednesday for the press of its new shinkansen bullet train powered by batteries, a first among the world's high-speed trains.

JR Central said it hopes the technology will be useful in emergencies which might otherwise leave trains stranded in tunnels or on bridges during an extended power outage. The battery-powered shinkansen would be able to proceed on its own to the nearest station, Kyodo News reports.

The N700S train, to be debuted in July 2020, is able to carry batteries on the underside of its carriages due to the reduced size of other technology and equipment.

The test run was held for media at a railyard in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture.