<p>Japan's state-of-the-art maglev train clocked a new world speed record Tuesday in a test run near Mount Fuji, smashing through the 600 kilometre (373 miles) per hour mark, as Tokyo races to sell the technology abroad.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The seven-car maglev train -- short for "magnetic levitation" -- hit a top speed of 603 kilometres an hour, and managed nearly 11 seconds at over 600kph, operator Central Japan Railway said.<br /><br />The new record came less than a week after the company recorded a top speed of 590 kph, breaking its own 2003 record of 581 kph.<br /><br />The maglev hovers 10 centimetres (four inches) above the tracks and is propelled by electrically charged magnets.<br /><br />About two hundred train buffs gathered for today's record-setting run, with the crowd cheering as the train broke through 600 kph per hour.<br /><br />"It gave me chills. I really want to ride on the train," an elderly woman told public broadcaster NHK as the carriage rocketed past her.<br /><br />"It's like I witnessed a new page in history."<br /><br />An AFP reporter who previously rode on the super-speed train said the experience was like taking off in a plane, with the feeling of g-force gathering as the speedometer is pushed ever higher.<br /><br />"The faster the train runs, the more stable it becomes -- I think the quality of the train ride has improved," Yasukazu Endo, who heads the maglev test centre southwest of Tokyo, told reporters today.<br /><br />JR Central wants to have a train in service in 2027, plying the 286-km route between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya.<br /><br />The service, which would run at a top speed of 500 kph, is expected to connect the two cities in only 40 minutes, less than half the present journey time in Japan's already speedy bullet trains.<br /><br />By 2045, maglev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just one hour and seven minutes, slashing the journey time in half.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Japan is looking to sell its shinkansen bullet and maglev train systems overseas, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acting as a travelling salesman in his bid to revive the economy partly through infrastructure exports.<br /><br />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. <br /></p>
<p>Japan's state-of-the-art maglev train clocked a new world speed record Tuesday in a test run near Mount Fuji, smashing through the 600 kilometre (373 miles) per hour mark, as Tokyo races to sell the technology abroad.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The seven-car maglev train -- short for "magnetic levitation" -- hit a top speed of 603 kilometres an hour, and managed nearly 11 seconds at over 600kph, operator Central Japan Railway said.<br /><br />The new record came less than a week after the company recorded a top speed of 590 kph, breaking its own 2003 record of 581 kph.<br /><br />The maglev hovers 10 centimetres (four inches) above the tracks and is propelled by electrically charged magnets.<br /><br />About two hundred train buffs gathered for today's record-setting run, with the crowd cheering as the train broke through 600 kph per hour.<br /><br />"It gave me chills. I really want to ride on the train," an elderly woman told public broadcaster NHK as the carriage rocketed past her.<br /><br />"It's like I witnessed a new page in history."<br /><br />An AFP reporter who previously rode on the super-speed train said the experience was like taking off in a plane, with the feeling of g-force gathering as the speedometer is pushed ever higher.<br /><br />"The faster the train runs, the more stable it becomes -- I think the quality of the train ride has improved," Yasukazu Endo, who heads the maglev test centre southwest of Tokyo, told reporters today.<br /><br />JR Central wants to have a train in service in 2027, plying the 286-km route between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya.<br /><br />The service, which would run at a top speed of 500 kph, is expected to connect the two cities in only 40 minutes, less than half the present journey time in Japan's already speedy bullet trains.<br /><br />By 2045, maglev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just one hour and seven minutes, slashing the journey time in half.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Japan is looking to sell its shinkansen bullet and maglev train systems overseas, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acting as a travelling salesman in his bid to revive the economy partly through infrastructure exports.<br /><br />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. <br /></p>