When did they get rid of the 700?



As far as I know they have started to eliminate the 700 from Nozomi services, because the 700 lacks the tilting needed to go 285 km/h on the Tokaido (without tilting you're limited to 270 km/h, just like the 300 and 500 were) and it's 285 km/h top speed causes time loss on the 300 km/h Sanyo sections. As far as I know the 700 is still used for Hikari and Kodama services, but given the congested situation on the Tokaido it wouldn't surprise me if they have started to eliminate the 700 from the Tokaido completely.



Note that a N700/N700A is only a few minutes quicker over the entire Tokyo to Hakata stretch compared to a 700. That a good indication that raising speeds further on the Tokaido/Sanyo will only yield minimal gains. That in turn explains why so much effort is put into building the Chuo Shinkansen.