EASTERN FRANCE – France’s TGV train smashed the world rail speed record yesterday, providing an important image boost for French industry in an increasingly competitive world market.
An experimental version of the fast train, equipped with two supercharged locomotives and extra-large wheels, hit 574,8 kilometres per hour on a specially prepared stretch of track east of Paris. The record smashed the 515,3 kph set by a TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse or high-speed train) in 1990, but narrowly missed the overall world train speed record of 581 kph reached in 2003 by a Japanese magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train.Manufacturer Alstom arranged the exploit in order to test its latest engineering designs in extreme conditions, and also to display the TGV’s technological prowess to potential international clients.President Jacques Chirac sent his congratulations on “this new proof of the excellence of the French rail industry.”European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that “thanks to French engineers, Europe is the champion of the world.”Nampa-AFPThe record smashed the 515,3 kph set by a TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse or high-speed train) in 1990, but narrowly missed the overall world train speed record of 581 kph reached in 2003 by a Japanese magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train.Manufacturer Alstom arranged the exploit in order to test its latest engineering designs in extreme conditions, and also to display the TGV’s technological prowess to potential international clients.President Jacques Chirac sent his congratulations on “this new proof of the excellence of the French rail industry.”European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that “thanks to French engineers, Europe is the champion of the world.”Nampa-AFP
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