Japan's flashy new bullet train set to make debut

Latest model can reach a top speed of 300 km an hour

TOKYO - Japan is set to launch at the weekend its next-generation high-speed train, featuring sleek green and silver cars with pink stripes and named for the peregrine falcon.

The "Hayabusa", the first upgrade of Japan's bullet train fleet in 14 years, has sparked such excitement among railway buffs that one ticket for Saturday, when it debuts, sold for thousands of dollars on the Internet, media said.