Japan broke the world train speed record earlier today when its new Maglev train hit 603 kilometers per hour (375 mph) on the experimental Yamanashi track.

The magnetic levitation track, known commonly as Maglev, is capable of speeds far in excess of the current limits on normal tracks.

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The Japanese government has been testing the Maglev track for the past few months, setting new records every week. The track is expected to go into service in 2027 connecting several Japanese cities together.

These speeds will allow the common traveler to travel from Tokyo to Nagoya in under 40 minutes, twice as fast as the current 100 minute travel time.

Although Japan doesn't plan to run the train as fast as the current test speeds of 600 km/h, sticking to a limit of 505 km/h (314 mph), it will still be much faster than anything currently on track.

That does make trains around half as fast as planes, meaning long distance travel will still be done by air rather than on a Maglev.

Japan has bigger plans for Maglev than connecting its major cities. It's already in talks with the U.S. government to connect Washington D.C., Baltimore and New York by Maglev.

It's not clear if the U.S. government wants to connect the country through Maglev stations since there's Hyperloop, Elon Musk's own system for transport. While Hyperloop hasn't been tested, Musk claims it could reach speeds of over 800 km/h (500 kph), almost twice as fast as Maglev speeds.

Japan still has 10 years to work on the Maglev tracks. In that time we may see performance increases pushing the limits far beyond what's possible now.

Several experts claim the Hyperloop will always win out when it comes to speed, however, due to it enclosed design.

Both transport systems are still in development and could be subject to major ramifications. One Hyperloop company is trying to gain enough investment for a test track in Nevada where it will show government's the speed increase and potential safety features in a completely enclosed transport system.

TagsMaglev, Yamanashi, trains, Tokyo