Trains can feel quite old fashioned, in a lot of ways. With long distance travel very much the preserve of the plane in modern culture, a long-distance train as a mode of public transport can be seen as quirky, rather than the go-to option. Japan, though, is determined to change that.

Japan’s world record breaking Maglev L0 passenger train has been under testing since it was unveiled to the press in November of 2012, achieving speeds of 374 miles per hour. The technically advanced train is eventually intended to run on the Chuo Shinkansen line, a route between Japanese capital Tokyo and the substantial provincial city of Osaka. The first phase will run about two thirds of the way, to Nagoya, by around 2027, with the remaining Osaka stretch coming into play in roughly 2045, nearly 100 years after Japan first looked at Maglev technology.