02/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The vice-president of the European Commission with responsibility for transport, Jacques Barrot, will be attending the official attempt to break the world rail speed record on 3 April by a French TGV high speed train. At the unofficial dress rehearsal last week on the TGV-Est line in France (which will be linking up Paris and Strasbourg from 10 June onwards, along with international routes to Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Zurich), the train reached a top speed of 568 kmph. The aim on 3 April is to reach 150 metres per second (540 kmph) to beat the 18 May 1990 record of 515 kmph. The train will have two V-150 engines (of 25,000 horsepower rather than the 12,500 hp on normal TGVs), pulling three double-decker carriages. The absolute rail speed record is held by the Maglev in Japan which reached 581.2 kmph in 2003 through a magnetic suspension system whereby it hovers about the rail without actually touching it. (aby)