China passenger train hits 300 mph, breaks record [View All]

Source: Anita Chang, Associated Press – Fri Dec 3, 4:18 am ET

A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said.

The Xinhua News Agency said it was the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train. Other types of trains in other countries have traveled faster.

A specially modified French TGV train reached 357.2 mph (574.8 kph) during a 2007 test, while a Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 361 mph (581 kph) in 2003.

State television footage showed the sleek white train whipping past green farm fields in eastern China. It reached the top speed on a segment of the 824-mile (1,318-kilometer) -long line between Zaozhuang city in Shandong province and Bengbu city in Anhui province, Xinhua said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101203/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_high_speed_rail

---

It is a shame that a portion of the stimulus funds were not spent on a project like this. It would have provided countless jobs and prepared this nation to better face the future.