Development of Train Bogies that Support the Articulated Structure ( Development and Results of Tests on the Four Point Spring Suspension type system Bogie and Two Point Spring Suspension type system

JR EAST Technical Review-No.5 The JR East Group developed an AC Train prototype (Series E993 type train) towards the formation of the next generation of commuter and suburban trains. This train was the first commuter and suburban train for the JR East Group to employ the articulated method, a method that was adopted in order to improve passenger services and reduce the life cycle cost. In contrast to the traditional bogie in which the train body is supported by two bogies, with the articulated method 1), the bogie is deployed at the coupling of the train body to support the fore and aft vehicles. In Japan, major examples of use have been in the express trains of Odakyu Electric Railway (Romance Cars), Enoshima Electric Railway, and Hiroshima Electric Railway and JR East Group employs the system for the Shinkansen high speed test train (Series 953: STAR21) that was developed in 1993. The articulated bogies of the past generally employed a method of supporting the train laterally with an indirect mount method 2) used for the bolster spring. In contrast to this, in order to improve ease of maintenance and achieve lighter weight, the sliding parts have been eliminated and a bolsterless method has been used for the articulated bogie of the AC Train. In order to compare operating performance and the structure of the articulated part, two types of articulated bogies, a two point air spring suspension type system and a four point air spring suspension type system were developed. This paper will present the overview and structure of these articulated bogies and the results from operational tests on measurement of operational safety, operational safety under load offset conditions assuming a significant difference in the number of passengers in each compartment, and ride comfort.