Japan's train sets new record. Photo Source: YouTube
The state-of-the art maglev train run by Central Japan Railway set a new world speed record of 603 kilometers (373 miles) per hour this Tuesday during a manned test run. The railway company reports that the train managed to maintain a speed of over 600 kilometers for nearly 11 seconds.
The Maglev (an abbreviation of "magnetic levitation") train is propelled by electrically charged magnets and hovers 10 centimeters (4 inches) above the tracks.
Interestingly enough, the train broke the previous world speed record of 590 kph, which was set by the company just last week.
JR Central wants the train to start carrying passengers in 2027. The train will operate on a route between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya. Running at a top speed of 500 kph, the maglev train is expected to cover the distance of 286 kilometers between the two cities in only 40 minutes.
Japan is planning on exporting the maglev technology abroad. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be visiting the United States this weeked to promote the technology for a high-speed link between New York and Washington. To make the offer more enticing, Abe said that Japan would not be charging the US licensing fees for the train.
Source: Yahoo.com
