TOKYO — Central Japan Railway Co., which is building a magnetic levitation rail line, was overwhelmed by applications for a ride aboard the world’s fastest train on a test track ahead of the official line opening in 2027.

A total of about 150,000 applications were received for 1,200 pairs of seats to ride the train in November and December, the first time the extended 27-mile track will be open to the public, according to Daisuke Fujita, a spokesman at Central Japan Railway Co.

JR Central, which operates the world’s busiest bullet train line, is due to start building a maglev link between Tokyo and Nagoya by the end of March. The company is spending $48 billion to link Tokyo and Nagoya by maglev, boosted by record earnings and a higher operating profit margin than Apple.

The maglev will more than halve travel time between Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan’s third-largest city, to 40 minutes for the journey when it opens in 2027. The line, which uses magnetic power to propel trains that float above the ground, will enable travel at almost double the speed of current bullet trains between the two cities.