TOKYO: Central Japan Railway Co. said its magnetic levitation bullet train hit 590 kilometers per hour (366 miles per hour) on Thursday and broke the previous speed record set 12 years ago by the company. The train was operated on a test course constructed in Yamanashi prefecture in central Japan. The previous record of 581 kilometers per hour was set in December 2003.
A spokeswoman at the company, known as JR Central, said the new record is likely to be short-lived, since the next test ride on Tuesday might see the train break 600 kilometers per hour.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to talk up Japan’s train prowess on a visit to the U.S. starting April 26. Mr. Abe’s trip includes a stop in California, which is planning a high-speed rail line.
JR Central has said it wants to export the maglev technology to the U.S. for a Washington-New York train link—a project Mr. Abe has said Japan would help finance.According to JR Central, the test run was conducted to check the performance of the cars and had 29 technicians aboard. Passengers won’t experience the record-breaking speed even after the line opens for business, which is supposed to happen in 2027.
The company has projected that the trains will operate at a maximum speed of 505 kilometers per hour.The Japanese government in October approved the construction of what will be the world’s fastest train line, which will connect Tokyo and Nagoya in about 40 minutes, less than half the time that the shinkansen bullet trains require today.Maglev trains are a “contactless transportation system,” which uses magnetic charge to lift and move the train cars above a guideway.
