Abstract
High-speed intercity railways have grown into profitable business, achieving a renaissance in rail transport. High-speed railways need constant updating to new systems if they are to be winners in this age of competing transportation modes. In view of that situation, JR East started an R&D project to achieve even faster speeds-more than 300km/h. A test train that can run at an operational speed of 360km/h is under development, and JR East plans to commence high-speed tests in the summer of 2005.