The Chinese claimed a new world train speed record this week of 258 miles per hour on their new 100-mile-long high-speed route from Shanghai to Hangzhou.

The record run was during a trial on the new £2.7 billion line which opens later this month (October 2010).

During normal service, the Chinese-built CRH380A train will run at 215 mph, but still cut the journey time between Shanghai to Hangzhou by 40 minutes to one hour 19 minutes. It is expected to carry 80 million passenger a year.

"China has 4,383 miles of high-speed railway in service,” said He Huawu from China’s Ministry of Railways.

"We have an ambition to lead the world in high-speed railway construction."

The current target is to build 10,000 miles of high-speed line, including the Beijing-Shanghai line which is expected to open in 2012.

Information from: Shanghai Daily