fastest passenger trains in the world
The fastest passenger trains around the world. 21 April 2015 Last updated at 22:41 BST. A Japanese magnetic levitation train has broken the world speed record. In a test run near Mount Fuji, the train reached a top speed of 603km/h (374mph). However, Japan is not the only country to boast rail travel of such super speeds. The BBC takes a look at some of the fastest passenger trains around the world.
The top speed presently permitted on the lines is 200 mph. The Tokaido Shinkansen, operating between Tokyo and Osaka, has transported a total of 5.3 billion passengers since it opened in 1964, far in excess of any other high-speed railway system in the rest of the world.
The Hikari No. 1 pulled out from platform 9 at Tokyo Station at precisely 5:59 am on October 1, 1964. The first commercial journey of a bullet train, it swiftly reached a top speed of 210 kph (130.49 mph) and sped south-west on a specially constructed line towards Osaka.
The lift and push are provided to the train by the repulsive and attractive forces of magnetism used by this system. The maglev trains that are operating at the present have been designed by the engineers in the preceding decade. A new maglev train has been tested on the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line recently. The most recent maglev train in Japan is known as the LO Series and can run at speeds of up to 311mph (500 km/h). In its first run along the 26.6-miles test track, the train reached its top speed before it touched the 3-mile marker.