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 Japans train prowess on a visit to the U.S. starting April 26. Mr. Abes 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 linka 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 wont 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.
Yet the GOP/Tea Party remains firmly committed to allowing our transportation infrastructure degrade to noncompetitive, Third World conditions.
Say they do build a few of these boondoggles, what's gonna happen to them when they declare martial law and shut down the country?
Maybe use them to ferry the troops around from city to city to keep the Democrat voters (Baaaa, Baaaaa) and "domestic terrorists" in check?
Or maybe be used to give free tours to foreign dignitaries to show them just how bad they've phucked up this country and how to really screw up theirs.
Oh wait never mind its only the intent/perception that matters not the end result... Right????????
Say they do build a few of these boondoggles, what's gonna happen to them when they declare martial law and shut down the country?
Same thing that happens at publicly funded Airports today.
The Vanguard elite swine in the farmhouse will get to ride the "public utility" while the unwashed (less equal) farm animals mix mud and straw... and carry the bricks for the elite's tombs.
I never see "progressives" handing out free airline tickets at Feddy Pena's TSA-secured memorial circus tent, do you?