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Japan's state-of-the-art maglev train set a world speed record Tuesday in a test run near Mount Fuji, clocking more than 600 kilometres (373 miles) an hour.
The seven-car maglev -- short for "magnetic levitation" -- train, hit a top speed of 603 kilometres an hour, and managed nearly 11 seconds over 600kph Central Japan Railway said.
The new record came less than a week after the company clocked 590kph, by breaking its own 2003 record of 581 kph.
The maglev hovers 10 centimetres (four inches) above the tracks and is propelled by electrically charged magnets.
JR Central wants to have a train in service in 2027 plying the route between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya, a distance of 286 kilometres.
The service, which would run at a top speed of 500 kilometres per hour, is expected to connect the two cities in only 40 minutes, less than half the present journey time in the shinkansen bullet trains.
By 2045 maglev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just one hour and seven minutes, slashing the journey time in half.
However, construction costs for the dedicated lines are astronomical -- estimated at nearly $100 billion just for the stretch to Nagoya, with more than 80 percent of the route expected to go through costly tunnels.
Japan is looking to sell its shinkansen bullet and magnetic train systems overseas with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acting as travelling salesman in chief in his bid to revive the Japanese economy partly through infrastructure exports.
He is due in the United States this weekend, where he will be touting the technology for a high speed rail link between New York and Washington.
SHOTLIST :
PLEASE NOTE: ALL IMAGES ARE FILE
IMAGES - 02:04
TOKYO, JAPAN 12 APRIL 2014
SOURCE: AFPTV
- Maglev training arriving on test track
TOKYO, JAPAN 12 APRIL 2014
SOURCE: POOL
+NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES+
- Top-shot of Maglev train from a hillside
TOKYO, JAPAN 12 APRIL 2014
SOURCE: AFPTV
- VAR of train arriving on test track
- VAR of Shinzo Abe and Caroline Kennedy being shows the technology behind the train
- VAR of Shinzo Abe and Caroline Kennedy getting into the train
TOKYO, JAPAN 12 APRIL 2014
SOURCE: POOL
+NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES+
- Top-shot of train from a hillside
TOKYO, JAPAN, APRIL 12, 2014
SOURCE: AFPTV
- VAR of Shinzo Abe and Caroline Kennedy sitting in the train
- VAR inside the train
- VAR of both of them attempting to spot Mount Fuji out the window
TOKYO, JAPAN 12 APRIL 2014
SOURCE: POOL
+NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES+
- Top-shot of train from a hillside
TOKYO, JAPAN 12 APRIL 2014
SOURCE: AFPTV
- Journalists leaving train
- VAR Shinzo Abe and Caroline Kennedy talking to Yoshiyuki Kasai, president of Central Japan Railway
SOUNDBITE 1 - Caroline Kennedy, US Ambassador to Japan (woman, English, 15 sec):
“This technology is something that will bring great benefits to Japan and hopefully the United States one day and it’s inspiring a new generation of young scientists to want to do more science and technology.”
SOUNDBITE 2 - Yoshiyuki Kasai , President of Central Japan Railway (man, Japanese 15 sec):
“I think this will eventually strengthen relations between Japan and the US, as the Prime minister does, we do all we can to make it happen, this is wonderful.”
SOUNDBITE 3 - Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister (man, Japanese, 19 sec):
“This Japanese technology will drastically reduce CO2 emissions and I want to promote it the most I can so that it is used abroad. I especially hope it will be used by our allies, like the United States.”
DURATION: 02: 59
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