The six-car Fastech will aim to log the world's fastest speed for wheeled trains at 360 kilometers (224 miles) per hour during a normal journey.

In comparison, France's TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) ordinarily runs at 300 kph. However, the TGV still holds the world record for wheeled trains for hitting 515 kph (320 mph).

"The Fastech can run safely at more than 400 kilometers per hour but we do not have plans to test in the 500-kilometer range," company spokesman Makoto Yasuhara said.

"We will start test runs at the weekend for about two years before we put it into commercial operations," he said.

The Shinkansen, or "New Trunk Line", was introduced as the world's fastest train in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, showcasing technological prowess in the country's rapid rebirth from World War II.

The network, partly funded by the government, is spread across Japan's main island of Honshu.

The Fastech 360Z is a twin version of the Fastech 360S which has already been tested for 10 months on regular bullet-train tracks in northern Japan.

The new version, with a slightly slimmer and shorter body, will be tested on tracks used by both regular trains and bullet trains in space-limited mountain areas in northern Japan.

The two versions have similar characteristics, including jade-colored bodies and air-resistance panels which spread above the ceiling to stop the train in earthquakes and other emergencies.

The company's affiliate firm, Central Japan Railway Co., is also developing the world's fastest magnetically levitated train.

Its test train, JR-Maglev MLX01, has reached 581 kph (361 mph) in December 2003 in Yamanashi west of Tokyo.

China currently operates the world's only commercial Maglev line, which runs the 30 kilometers (19 miles) between Shanghai's airport and financial district, at speeds up to 430 kph.

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