NEW JAPANESE BULLET TRAIN CAN RUN DURING EARTHQUAKES

Japan's latest record-breaking bullet train doesn't only run faster and smoother -- it's also able to transport passengers to safety in the event of an earthquake, Maggie Hiufu Wong wrote for CNN on July 2, 2020.

The N700S -- the 'S' stands for 'Supreme' -- entered into service July 1 and serves the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which links Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka.

It can run up to 360 kilometers per hour, a new record set during a test run in 2019, making it one of the fastest trains in the world. The operating speed, however, will be capped at 285 kilometers per hour.

It's the first new bullet train model to be added to the Tokaido Shinkansen line by the Central Japan Railway (JR Central) in 13 years, a launch that was originally timed to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 -- now postponed to 2021. Coincidentally, Japan inaugurated the Tokaido Shinkansen line in 1964, connecting Tokyo and Osaka, just in time for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo that same year. It was the world's first high speed railway line.