Train breaks speed record in France

By Benjamin Mallet

ON BOARD TRAIN V150, France (Reuters) - A French TGV train broke a world speed record on Tuesday when it hurtled down a newly built track at 574.8 kilometres per hour (357 mph) in the northern Champagne region.

Both the president and the prime minister saluted the achievement, a morale-booster for a nation that prides itself on its technological know-how but is grappling with high unemployment and a trade deficit.

The special train called V150, an enhanced version of trains that will run on the Paris-Strasbourg line from June 10, has been preparing for the record run for weeks and carried journalists and other guests for the official attempt.

From about 380 kph, vibrations in the train became more and more noticeable. At 490 kph passengers became slightly dizzy. At 540 kph it became difficult to remain standing despite the stability of the train.

At 570 kph, the driver -- filmed on camera -- wore a very big smile. "We had no worries -- no birds, good weather, none of the troubles we had during the tests," said driver Eric Pieczak.

Live television images showed bystanders on overhead bridges cheering as the chromium and black coloured train roared past, followed by an aircraft filming the record-breaking run.

The absolute speed record for trains, 581 kph (361 mph), was set in 2003 by a 'maglev' (magnetic levitation) train in Japan. Such trains do not run on rails but glide on a magnetic field.

The previous speed record for a train running on rails was 515.3 kph, set in France in 1990.