France's modernized TGV train set a new world speed record for rail trains Tuesday as it reached more than 357.2 miles per hour in a test run along a newly opened track between Paris and Strasbourg. The V150 train with a reconfigured engine beat the previous world record of 320.2 miles per hour, which had been set by its predecessor in 1990.

TGV builder Alstom Transports and the state-run rail company SNCF said the 30 million euro project was aimed at boosting customer interest in France's high-speed technology.

"It is important for us to show that the TGV technology, developed by SNCF 30 years ago, is a technology of the future," CEO Guillaume Pepy said.

Germany's ICE trains and Japan's Shinkansen - the TGV's main competitors - develop a maximum speed of 267 miles per hour and 249 miles per hour, respectively.

Japan's non-conventional magnetically levitated Maglev train can accelerate to 361 miles per hour.