
© Getty Images
The Maglev (magnetic levitation) train during a test run on the
experimental track in Tsuru, 100km west of Tokyo, on May 11, 2010.
A Japanese magnetic levitation train has broken its own world
speed record, hitting 603km/h (374mph) in a test run near Mount Fuji.
The train beat the 590km/h speed it had set last week in another test.
Maglev trains use a electrically charged magnets to lift and move carriages above the rail tracks.
Central
Japan Railway (JR Central), which owns the trains, wants to introduce
the service between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya by 2027.
The 280km journey would take only about 40 minutes, less than half the current time.
However,
passengers will not get to experience the maglev's record-breaking
speeds because the company said its trains will operate at a maximum of
505km/h.
Construction is estimated at nearly $100bn (£67bn) just
for the stretch to Nagoya, with more than 80% of the route expected to
go through costly tunnels, reported AFP news agency.
The government is also hoping to sell the maglev train technology overseas.
Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting the US on Sunday where he is
expected to pitch for a role in building a new high-speed rail line
between New York and Washington.
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