China passenger train hits 300 mph, breaks record

• A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) on Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai
• The Xinhua News Agency said it was the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train. Other types of trains in other countries have travelled faster.
• A specially modified French TGV train reached 357.2 mph (574.8 kph) during a 2007 test, while a Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 361 mph (581 kph) in 2003.
• The line is due to open in 2012 and will halve the current travel time between the capital Beijing and Shanghai to five hours.
• China already has the world's longest high-speed rail network, and it plans to cover 8,125 miles (13,000 kilometers) by 2012 and 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) by 2020.