MUSEUM chiefs put the focus on the Far East yesterday when they rolled out the red carpet to welcome the Bullet Train to Britain.

Shinkansen Car 22-141 was unveiled in its new home at the National Railway Museum in York after a 10,000-mile journey from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Kimono-clad girls, Oriental Taiko drummers and the Japanese ambassador Sadayuki Hayashi were among those who toasted the new arrival in the museum's cavernous Great Hall.

The 82ft-long Series 0 car has earned its retirement after covering nearly 6,500,000 miles during its 24 years of service in Japan.

But in its new station it still has a role to play, teaching visitors more about one of the great triumphs of train technology.

Appropriately, the 140mph-plus car is positioned beside the revered Mallard, still the holder of the world speed record for steam locos.

Mallard was retired from service in 1963, just a year before the first Bullet trains went into service for Japan's Shinkansen, which literally means "new main line".

The huge locomotives quickly earned their place in the record books by revolutionising high-speed travel.

"When the Bullet Train went into service it represented probably the most important breakthrough in rail technology since Stephenson's Rocket," said museum head Andrew Scott.

The 54-ton loco was offered to the museum by the West Japan Railway Company - JR-West - who further proved their generosity by meeting all the shipping costs.

"When we first discussed bringing a Series 0 to the National Railway Museum the notion seemed almost impossible, but we knew this was one story we simply had to tell," said Mr Scott.

The Bullet Train is the first foreign-built railway vehicle to enter the national collection and its exhibition is part of the nationwide Japan 2001 Festival.

"There has been a tremendous spirit of partnership and cooperation throughout this amazing venture, from restoring the Series 0 for display and shipping it to the UK to the transfer to the museum and the creation of this wonderful exhibition," said Mr Scott.

l For more on the Bullet Train, go to the museum's website at www.nrm.org.uk