This paper introduces a new contact wire made of Cu-Ni-Si alloy. There are several contact wires that can be employed at speeds over 300km/h, including the copper clad steel (CS) contact wire used on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line and the precipitation hardened copper alloy (PHC) contact wire which will soon be available for practical applications. However, the CS contact wire is not suitable for recycling because it is a composite contact wire, and the PHC contact wire requires costly manufacturing methods. We have developed a new contact wire made of Cu-Ni-Si alloy in order to make up for drawbacks of CS and PHC contact wires, and have confirmed that the new contact wire satisfies the requirements for a contact wire through several tests.

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