By Alex Davies www.businessinsider.com
The Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) yesterday unveiled a prototype it believes will bring faster train service than ever before to Japan.

The idea of maglev-powered transportation has been around for more than a century. The first relevant patent was issued in 1905; Britain operated a low-speed maglev shuttle in Birmingham between 1984 and 1995. Today, only two commercial systems are in service. More info