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Here we compiled a list of the countries with world’s
fastest trains based on the maximum speed measured in miles per hour
(mph). We’ve included record speeds hit during trial runs on electric
and magnetic levitation (Maglev) trains, as well as those of
experimental models. The numbers are based on a series of publicly
available reports, as well as information from organizations such as the
Railway Gazette International and the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.
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Japan
Train: JR-Maglev MLX01
Speed: 361 mph
Capacity: Experimental
Japan is the world leader when it comes to high-speed trains, opening
the world’s first modern high-speed rail in 1964. The Japanese first
made a breakthrough in the field when they introduced the first series
of the Tokaido Shinkansen “bullet trains,” which could reach a top speed
of 130 mph. The early bullet trains carried more than 100 million
passengers in just the first three years. Today, the trains are still
operating on the world’s busiest rail line, carrying 378,000 passengers
a day. Maglev trains have also been developed in Japan since the 1970s.
The government has approved plans for a $112.4 billion project to build
a Maglev train line between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, with a completion
date of 2027. These planned high-speed trains are expected to cut the
current travel time between Tokyo and Osaka from two hours and 18
minutes on the Shinkansen to just over an hour. Currently, the
experimental JR-Maglev MLXO1 is considered the world’s fastest train,
with a top speed of 361 mph in a test run in 2003. |
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France
Train: TGV V150
Speed: 357 mph
Capacity: Experimental
France sped ahead of the rest of Europe in the race to build the first
fully functioning high-speed rail network. The first Alstom developed
TGV trains hit the tracks in 1981, with service between Paris and Lyon.
Since then, the network has expanded to service 150 destinations within
France and neighboring countries. Limited to a speed of up to 200 mph
during normal service, the experimental TGV V150 hit a record speed of
357 mph in 2007—making it the second fastest train in the world. TGV’s
high-speed technology is used in national trains in many European
countries including the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Last month, French train maker Alstom signed a preliminary deal to build
a high-speed rail line in Iraq linking the cities of Baghdad and Basra. |
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China
Train: CRH380AL
Speed: 302 mph
Capacity: 600 passengers
China has the world’s longest high-speed rail network with more than
6,000 miles of routes in service. It also boasts the longest high-speed
rail route, with the opening of its Beijing-Shanghai line earlier this
month. The 819-mile route was made using 60 million cubic meters of
concrete, twice the amount used in the Three Gorges Dam. While the
CRH380AL trains operate at a speed of 186 mph, the train hit a record
speed of 302 mph in a test run. China’s first high-speed line, which
opened in 2007, saw 40.6 million passengers travel on it in just the
first two years. The government hopes to stretch China’s rapidly growing
high-speed network to 28,000 miles by the end of 2015. |
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Germany
Train: Transrapid TR-07
Speed: 270.3 mph
Capacity: Experimental
Germany is a nation that has been at the forefront of high-speed rail
technology. It’s home to Siemens, the world’s largest manufacturer of
high-speed trains. German companies Siemens and ThyssenKrupp have
developed the Transrapid system, high-speed monorail trains operating on
magnetic levitation (Maglev) technology, that can reach speeds of 311
mph. In 2004, the Shanghai Maglev train in China was the first
commercial Transrapid train to carry passengers, hitting speeds of 267
mph. Although the magnetic levitation trains are developed in Germany,
they have never been used commercially in the country. The technology
has faced several setbacks, including high costs and a crash that killed
25 people during a test run in 2006. Instead, the InterCityExpress (ICE)
system has been adopted nationwide since 1991. These high-speed trains
hit speeds of 199 mph and connect German cities with cities in
Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. An ICE train disaster
near the German village of Eschede in 1998 is considered the world’s
deadliest high-speed rail accident, leading to the deaths of 101 people. |
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Spain
Train: AVE Class 103
Speed: 251 mph
Capacity: 404 passengers
Spain has the longest high-speed rail network in Europe, with 3,433
miles of tracks. With six high-speed train lines and several under
construction, the Spanish government aims to have 90 percent of its
population within 31 miles of a high-speed station by 2020. The
country’s fastest trains are the AVE series, which is manufactured by
several train makers, including Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier. The
Siemens-made AVE Class 103 train began commercial service in 2007, and
hit a record speed of 251 mph during a test run between Madrid and
Zaragoza. The maximum top speed for commercial trains in Spain is
limited to 186 mph for passenger safety. The euro-zone debt crisis and
Portugal’s austerity plan have halted a major expansion plan, which
would have linked Spain’s capital Madrid with Lisbon in Portugal. The
high-speed train link would have cut travel time between the two cities
to two hours and 45 minutes instead of the current nine hours.
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Italy
Train: ETR 500 Frecciarossa
Top Speed: 225 mph
Capacity: 590 passengers
One of the early pioneers of European high-speed rail technology, Italy
is home to Europe’s first high-speed train line. The Florence-Rome
high-speed line made history when more than half of its entire
length—the first 86 miles from Rome to Citta della Pieve—opened in 1977.
Trains on the track reached a maximum speed of 160 mph. Since then, the
country’s high-speed rail network has grown substantially, with
high-speed lines reaching as far north as Torino to as far south as
Napoli. The Italian-made ETR 500 is the fastest train series in the
country, with its ETR 500 Y1 model hitting speeds of up to 225 mph in
2009 on a trip between Florence and Bologna. Not everyone is happy with
the progress, however. Earlier this month, more than 200 people were
injured in a rally against the construction of a planned 36-mile tunnel
in the northern Susa valley that would cut three hours off the current
seven-hour train journey between Paris and Milan. Protesters say the
high-speed line will ruin the area and its construction could release
harmful chemicals.
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United Kingdom
Train: Eurostar 3313/14
Top Speed: 208 mph
Capacity: 750 passengers
The Eurostar has changed the way Western Europeans travel. Since it
began operations in 1994, the London-based high-speed rail network
connects England with cities in France and Belgium via an underground
tunnel in the English Channel, often referred to as the “Chunnel.” With
27 trains and links to more than 100 destinations across Europe, the
network marked its 100 millionth passenger in August 2009. The rail line
carries passengers at speeds of up to 186 mph. The Eurostar 3313/14
broke a British rail record set in 1979 by reaching speeds of 208 mph in
2003. The rail network was recently taken to court by French train-maker
Alstom over its decision to give a $600 million contract for 10 new
trains to German builder Siemens. However, a U.K. court rejected the
application to have the contract suspended. Alstom is the world’s second
biggest train maker and the supplier of all existing Eurostar trains.
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South Korea
Train: KTX-I
Top Speed: 190 mph
Capacity: 965
South Korea’s high-speed rail network, known as Korea Train eXpress (KTX),
carries more than 100,000 passengers a day on its two lines. In April
2010, a record 178,584 people used the country’s high-speed rail
network. After 12 years of construction, the first high-speed line was
opened in 2004, slashing travel time from the capital Seoul to the port
city of Busan to two hours and 40 minutes, half the time it took
previously. The travel time between the two cities was reduced by a
further 22 minutes when a second line was opened. The impact of
high-speed rail has been felt by the domestic airline industry, which
has seen its capacity shrink by more than 30 percent between 2003 and
2007. Although the introduction of low-cost air carriers in the country
has helped demand for air travel grow again, passenger levels are still
below what they used to be before high-speed rail was introduced.
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Taiwan
Train: THSR 700T
Top Speed: 186 mph
Capacity: 989 passengers
Taiwan’s high-speed rail project, which cost a total of $18 billion, is
one the world’s largest privately funded rail construction plans. The
country’s THSR 700T trains have cut travel time from 4.5 hours to 90
minutes on the 214-mile route from the northern capital of Taipei to the
southern city of Kaohsiung. The 30 high-speed trains, which began
operations in 2007, are based on the Japanese 700 Series Shinkansen
“bullet train” model. A record 36.9 million passengers rode the trains
in 2010, a 14 percent increase from the year before. The country’s
high-speed rail system has been making headlines recently after the
government said the network might not last more than 10 years because of
sinking land caused by the overuse of groundwater. Last month, the
government said it would cap deep groundwater wells that threaten the
structural base of the high-speed system.
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Russia
Train: Siemens Velaro RUS
Top Speed: 175 mph
Capacity: 600 passengers
Russia’s fastest high-speed train runs on the Moscow-St. Petersburg
line, and made its debut in December 2009. The German-built Velaro RUS
trains, also known as the Sapsan, have cut the travel time for the
401-mile route from eight hours to three hours and 45 minutes. The
10-car passenger trains operate at a maximum speed of 155 mph, but hit a
speed record of 175 mph during trials in 2009. The eight high-speed
trains are worth nearly $1 billion. Russia is eager to expand its
high-speed rail network ahead of hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The
country has invited foreign investors to bid on development contracts
for new lines that will link its cities.
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