French Train Hits New World Speed Record

REIMS (AFP) - France's TGV fast train set a new world speed record on rails Tuesday, hitting 574.8 kilometres per hour --357.2 mph -- on a specially prepared stretch of track east of Paris, according to official monitors.

The record -- easily beating the 515.3 kph set by a TGV (Traine a Grande Vitesse) in 1990 -- was made by an experimental version equipped with two supercharged locomotives and extra-large wheels.

However the TGV narrowly missed the overall world train speed record of 581 kph --360.8 mph -- reached in 2003 by a Japanese magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train.

Manufacturer Alstom arranged the exploit to test its latest engineering designs in extreme conditions, and also to display the TGV's technological prowess to clients in a growing world market.

Facing stiff competition from German and Japanese rivals, Alstom is angling for future bids from Argentina, China and Italy, as well as from the US state of California.

--Agence France-Presse - Francois Nascimbeni