Japan's maglev train sets record
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Magnets lift maglev trains off the track.
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TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A magnetically levitated Japanese train has raced to a new record, topping its own previous best set just last month.
The experimental three-car maglev was carrying passengers when it set the world's top speed for a train, clocking at 581 kph (361 mph), Central Japan Railway Co., which is carrying out the experiments, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The train, which is controlled remotely, set the previous record of 570 kilometers per hour (353 miles per hour) at the 18.4-kilometer- (11.4-mile-) long test track in Yamanashi Prefecture (state), west of Tokyo, on November 19.
It also had hit a top speed of 579 kph (359 mph) with nobody aboard last month.
Maglev trains differ from conventional trains in that magnets lift them slightly off the track, eliminating speed-reducing friction and reducing noise.
The maglev is part of a government-financed project to develop faster trains for a country that is already home to some of the world's speediest.
Central Japan Railway Co., part of the former state-run railway, is jointly developing the maglev with Japan's Railway Technology Research Institute.
Germany has developed a maglev train that China has bought. The United States also is planning one.
Exhibition runs in Japan have been held for local residents and visiting dignitaries. But Central Japan Railway officials haven't said when they plan to commercialize the trains, which might replace the Shinkansen "bullet trains."
Japan's bullet trains run up to 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour), and have reached speeds of 443 kph (275 mph) in test runs conducted in 1996. Those trains carry millions of Japanese between the country's major cities every year.
Engineers will continue to run the train at lower speeds to test its stability.
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