The outline of Central Japan Railway Co.'s magnetically levitated train project represents a major step in the long-term project, colloquially dubbed the Linear Chuo Shinkansen.
The train, scheduled to enter service in 2027, will whiz by at speeds of up to 500 kph, completing the 286-km trip from Tokyo to Nagoya in just 40 minutes — less than half the time needed by non-floating bullet trains.
While the futuristic project will put another technological feather in Japan's cap, however, the company is also looking abroad, notably to the United States, to market its technology, a company official said.