Fastest train in the world

Ever since the first steam locomotives, there have been efforts to build the fastest train in the world. German ICE trains, for example, can currently travel at up to 330 kilometers per hour. You can read about the fastest trains in the world here.

Train manufacturers are constantly making headlines because they want to break speed records. In April 2023, for example, news broke that China wants to reach speeds of up to 1,000 kilometers per hour with its Hyperloop system. Initial successful tests of the maglev train have apparently achieved this speed. The whole thing is necessary via a largely airless tube in which the train accelerates with low energy consumption. With this technology, trains could soon be traveling as fast as planes.

The first Hyperloop line, which has also been promoted by Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk, is due to be completed by 2035. It could be 150 kilometers long and connect the two mega-cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou in China. Even without a tube, the train can already accelerate to 623 kilometers per hour according to test drives.

And the fastest train in the world already comes from China. The “Shanghai Maglev”, also a maglev train, connects the city center of Shanghai with Pudong Airport. This route is 30 kilometers long. The train takes just seven minutes and 30 seconds to complete the journey. It reaches speeds of up to 460 kilometers per hour. Every day, 430 kilometers per hour are reached on a short section of the route and only at certain times. Normally, the top speed of the Transrapid train is 300 kilometers per hour.

China has the fastest scheduled trains in the world. In addition to the Maglev train in Shanghai, the CR400 “Fuxing” trains, which reach 350 kilometers per hour on a daily basis, also run there. Up to 1,200 passengers can travel back and forth per train on the Beijing-Shanghai-Hong Kong and Beijing-Harbin routes. So while China also holds the record for the fastest train on a longer route, there are debates about the title of second and third fastest train. The ICE3 from Germany reaches up to 330 kilometers per hour, the TGV from France 320 kilometers per hour. The Japanese Shinkansen trains also reach up to 320 kilometers per hour and are also considered to be particularly safe and reliable.

The ICE3 impresses with top speeds of 368 kilometers per hour. In everyday life, however, it usually travels at 250 kilometers per hour and a maximum of 300 kilometers per hour, as higher speeds are not permitted in Germany. The TGV, on the other hand, has a conventional speed of 320 kilometers per hour and thus wins in practice.

Depending on the interpretation, Spain is also among the fastest trains with its AVE train: With the AVE S-103, the country has developed its own high-speed trains from the former TGVs. They run on Europe’s longest network between Madrid, Seville, Málaga, Valencia, Galicia and Barcelona. The operating speed is 310 kilometers per hour, but the AVE trains can also travel up to 350 kilometers per hour in the event of delays. In 2006, the train even broke the Spanish speed record with 404 kilometers per hour.

The race for the fastest train in the world began back in the 1980s. There were impressive attempts in Europe in particular, with the ICE and TGV always coming out on top. Since 2000, Japan and China have also been making a name for themselves with their fast trains. These trains were about to win the title of fastest train in the world:

• 406 kilometers per hour: between 1988 and 1989, Germany had the InterCityExperimental (ICE/V), which reached speeds of 406 kilometers per hour. At the time, it was considered a national task to build its own high-speed train, especially in competition with the TGV.
• 515.3 kilometers per hour: On December 1, 1989, Deutsche Bahn’s TGV showed that 482.7 kilometers per hour was also possible. And in May 1990, the TGV-Atlantique even reached 515.3 kilometers per hour.
• 574 kilometers per hour: TGV had already established a record speed of 380 kilometers per hour in 1980. And the French railroad company SNCF also holds the record for the fastest train with wheels on rails: On April 3, 2007, the TGV V150 test train was traveling at 574 kilometers per hour.
• 487.3 kilometers per hour: The CRH380BL is a Chinese train in public service that reached a record speed of 487.3 kilometers per hour on 9 January 2011. The miracle was achieved between Xuzhou and Bengbu.

Trains with magnetic levitation technology are the fastest. The Japanese maglev train JR-Maglev MLX01, for example, set records. In December 2003, it reached a top speed of 581 kilometers per hour, albeit only for a few seconds. The Shinkansen L0, which reaches speeds of up to 603 kilometers per hour, was developed on this basis. To achieve this, it rolls on rubber wheels at the start of the journey and is lifted by rubber wheels from 150 kilometers per hour. This avoids friction and makes new records possible. Public journeys on the Shinkansen L0 should be possible from 2027.

And other countries are now also using technologies such as those from TGV to build some of the fastest trains in the world. TGV-inspired trains are in operation in Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Morocco, Italy and the United States. Morocco is home to Africa’s first high-speed train line, which has linked Tangier with Casablanca since 2018. Trains currently travel at speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour, although the project is not yet fully completed. The African record on the line is 357 kilometers per hour.

Read more: What actually happens to railroad lines that are no longer in use? In the USA, the Rail Trail shows how nature is reclaiming the track beds.