France's TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) set the world rail speed record for conventional wheeled trains in 2007. What was the approximate speed achieved?

Explanation

The key phrase in the question is "conventional wheeled trains". SNCF's archive identifies the TGV V150 trainset linked to the world speed record of 574.8 km/h on 3 April 2007, matching the 2007 record run described in the explanation. That separates the TGV record from two tempting but different categories: ordinary commercial running and maglev operation. A TGV in normal service is far slower than its special record attempt, with the explanation giving up to 320 km/h for commercial service. The 603 km/h figure belongs to Japan's SCMaglev in 2015, but maglev is separately categorised because it is not a conventional steel-wheel-on-rail train.

Why the other options are wrong

• (A) 374 km/h is closer to a high operational-speed idea than to the 2007 TGV V150 record run, which the cited SNCF archive records at 574.8 km/h.
• (C) 603 km/h refers to the Japanese SCMaglev record in 2015, but the question asks for a conventional wheeled-train record, not a maglev record.
• (D) 430 km/h is associated with Shanghai Maglev operation, so it belongs to a different technology category and not to the TGV V150's wheeled-rail record.

Concept

This tests world transport geography through the distinction between high-speed rail records and operating speeds. RAS questions often use such examples to check whether candidates can separate conventional rail systems from maglev technology.

Source

• Archives SNCF

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