Japan’s maglev train breaks own speed record at 603 kph  

Associated Press 3:48 PM | Tuesday, April 21st, 2015

202

This Monday, Sept. 12, 2005 photo provided by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency shows an asteroid named Itokawa photographed by the Hayabusa probe. On Wednesday, March 25, 2015, NASA announced it is aiming to launch a rocket to an asteroid in five years and grab a boulder off of it - a stepping stone and training mission for an eventual trip sending humans to Mars. Itokawa, 2008 EV5 and Bennu are the candidates for the mission. AP

Japan mulls 2018 moon landing, seeks to keep up with rivals

Japan’s maglev train breaks own speed record at 603 kph  

In this photo taken Monday, March 16, 2015, Guo Xinglan, center, eats a meal with relatives in a room she rents near the hospital in Beijing where she comes for her yearly checkup on her lung cancer that has gone into remission. These so-called cancer hotels that dot the neighborhood around China's most renowned cancer hospital, give patients an affordable, cozy place to wait for appointments and undergo outpatient treatment. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Studies: Merck drug Keytruda effective against 3 cancers

In this Sept. 7, 2012 file photo, Yanomami Indians dance in their village called Irotatheri in Venezuela's Amazon region. In a remote part of the Venezuelan Amazon, scientists have discovered that members of a village isolated from the modern world have the most diverse colonies of bacteria ever reported living in and on the human body. The microbiome _ the trillions of mostly beneficial bacteria that share our bodies _ plays a critical role in maintaining health. Friday's study raises tantalizing questions about the microbial diversity of our ancestors, and whether today’s Western diets and lifestyles strip us of some bugs we might want back. AP

Unprecedented germ diversity found in remote Amazonian tribe

Google embraces ‘mobile-friendly’ sites in search shake-up

A+

A-

TOKYO — A Japanese maglev that is the fastest passenger train in the world has broken its own speed record.

Operator JR Central said the train reached 603 kilometers per hour (375 miles per hour) in a test run on Tuesday, surpassing its previous record of 361 mph (581 kph) set in 2003. The train traveled for just over a mile (1.8 kilometers) at a speed exceeding 600 kph (373 mph).

A Japanese maglev train that is the fastest passenger train in the world runs on the Maglev Test Line in Tsuru, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tokyo Tuesday, April 21, 2015. Operator JR Central said the train reached 603 kilometers per hour (375 miles per hour) in the test run on Tuesday, surpassing its previous record of 361 mph (581 kph) set in 2003. (Junko Ozaki/Kyodo News via AP)

Japan’s high-speed rail services are among the most advanced in the world, with hundreds of trains running each day with minimal delays. However, unlike regular shinkansen or “bullet trains” that run on steel rails, magnetic levitation trains hover above rails, suspended by powerful magnets.

The Maglev Test Line, near Mount Fuji about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tokyo, is developing technology for use on a future 410-kilometer (250-mile) link that will reduce travel time between Tokyo and Osaka to just over an hour. The current minimum by bullet train is nearly three hours.

The maglev trains, begun as a project of Japan Airlines and the national railways with government support, have undergone decades of testing. Construction of the Tokyo-Osaka link, which is expected to cost more than 9 trillion yen ($76 billion), began in 2014.

The line, which will mostly run under mountains, is due to begin operations in the late 2020s. A similar system operates in Shanghai, linking its airport in the seaside suburbs of Pudong to the city’s subway system. TVJ

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL SECURITY & OTHER ISSUES

Tuesday, April 21, 2015