East Japan Railway Co. will begin testing a bullet train in June that will operate at speeds up to 360 kph.
West Japan Railway Co.'s Sanyo Shinkansen Line trains as well as high-speed trains in France and Germany are the world's fastest, running at speeds up to 300 kph, JR East company officials said.
The test run will be conducted between Sendai and Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, the carrier said Wednesday.
The train will be put through its paces at speeds between 275 kph and 405 kph to see how it handles.
The test train will consist of eight cars painted dark green on the top half and white on the bottom half.
Both the first and last car are streamlined, although the last car is sharper than the first.
Different shapes will be tested to compare the impact of air pressure when the train enters a tunnel.
The train is equipped with a braking device to slow it in the event of an earthquake or other emergencies by adjusting air resistance -- the first bullet train to have such a device, JR East said.
The device is designed to enable a train running at 360 kph to come to a complete stop over 4 km.
To reduce noise, each train has only one pantograph, down from the two on existing bullet trains. The sides of the pantograph have sound insulating boards.
The train is also to be equipped with a device to prevent it from swaying side to side and another to stabilize it when it is on a curve.
JR East has not set a date for putting the new bullet train into service.