The train also set a new world speed record for travelling 1,000 kilometres.

The special train, which was carrying SNCF chairman Louis Gallois and some 250 journalists, recorded an average speed of 306 kilometers (190 miles) an hour, the company said.

SNCF boss Gallois celebrates in Marseilles

"But it is the first time in the world a high-speed train covered such a long distance without stopping and maintained a speed of over 300 km/h."

Company sources said the train could have gone much faster, but the intention was to arrive in Marseilles at 2000 (1800 GMT), just in time for the main evening news programmes on French TV.

The high-speed train service linking the capital Paris and Marseilles will be inaugurated on 7 June by President Jacques Chirac, with a full customer service beginning on 10 June.

The test was also seen as a precursor for putting in place other long-distance high-speed rail links, including routes linking Marseilles with either London or Amsterdam, AFP reported.