Japan has started testing its fastest-ever bullet train—capable of reaching 400 kilometers per hour (249 mph)—as it continues to develop the revolutionary mode of travel.
The ALFA-X version of the Shinkansen train began three years’ worth of test runs on Friday.
自周五起，这种 ALFA-X 型新干线将开始为期三年的试运行。
Once it enters operation sometime around 2030, it will run at speeds of up to 360 kph (224 mph), comfortably making it the world’s fastest bullet train.
The model’s futuristic design features 10 cars and a long pointed nose.
这种车型的设计颇具未来色彩，其配有10节车厢和一个“长尖鼻子”车头。
It’ll be tested on the line between the cities of Sendai and Aomori, which are about 280 kilometers apart as the crow flies. Tests will take place after midnight, when the line is quiet, and will occur twice a week.
That model will enter operation in 2020, but its maximum speeds of 300 kph -- the same as other N700 series trains -- will be easily surpassed by the ALFA-X.
The flurry of new models coincides with Japan’s preparations to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
这种新车型浪潮涌现的同时是日本东京正在筹备主办的2020年夏季奥运会。
No matter what speeds the train achieves during its test runs, it won’t match the record-breaking pace of Japan Railway’s magnetic levitation, or maglev, train which hit 603 kph (374 mph) on an experimental track in 2015.
