High-speed rail

High-speed rail (often abbreviated to "HSR") is a form of rail travel that uses trains that can travel at least 250 km/h (160 mph) on purpose-built tracks. The fastest trains are capable of speeds in excess of 400 km/h (250 mph), though operational top speeds in day-to-day service are often limited to 300 km/h (190 mph) or less. Most definitions also include upgraded legacy tracks if speeds are 200 km/h (120 mph) or higher in revenue service, and some high-speed rail services contain no purpose-built tracks whatsoever. Many rail enthusiasts like high-speed trains because of their sleek streamlined designs, which are meant to improve efficiency and reduce air resistance, their eye-catching "snouts" which eliminate the tunnel boom, their modernity and of course their breathtaking speed!

High-speed rail is often faster than flying, if you take into account the time it takes to get to the airport and through security checks, as well as the usually faster boarding procedures for trains. This is particularly true for journeys between relatively nearby cities, and the regions where high-speed rail is most prevalent (Western Europe and East Asia) have many large cities in close proximity to one another. A train journey is usually faster than going by plane if it takes three hours or less. And of course, you'll get to enjoy the scenery during your journey, which you generally would not if travelling by plane. In addition, rail travel is more responsible way of transportation, emitting much less carbon than air travel.

Many high-speed rail services, especially in Asia, are aimed at business travellers and the fare structure and on-board amenities (e.g. Wi-Fi, a place to hang a suit) tend to reflect this.

The vast majority of high-speed trains are electrical multiple units (EMUs), which means they are driven by electricity and have their motive power distributed over most or all of the train instead of concentrated in a single locomotive. This has several technological advantages and means that a design where some passengers sitting directly behind the driver can see the tracks through the front window is easy to implement and has been done on some German ICEs.

History

Shinkansen 0 series, the world's very first high-speed trains, in service 1964-2008

The first high-speed rail line was Japan's Shinkansen (often called Bullet Train in English; actual translation "new trunk line"), with its first line, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, completed in 1964 — just in time for that year's Olympic Games in Tokyo. When first completed, it transported passengers between the cities of Tokyo and Osaka in a then-record time of 4 hours, compared to the 6 hours 10 minutes the journey took using conventional railway lines. Since then, technology has improved considerably, with the journey time on the fastest Nozomi trains between Tokyo and Osaka now taking 2 hours 22 minutes, and the operating speed of Shinkansen trains having been increased from 210 km/h (130 mph) when it opened in 1964 to 320 km/h today.

For over a decade, the Shinkansen remained the only high-speed rail network in the world, until the completion of the first line of the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) in France in 1981, which broke the Shinkansen's speed record and ushered in a new age of rail travel in Europe. Subsequently, many European countries introduced their own high-speed rail services, the first outside France being Germany's Intercity-Express (ICE) in 1991, which in turn broke the speed record of the TGV before France got it back. Today, Europe is served by an extensive network of high-speed rail lines, and is the only place where a system is being developed at the continental scale. Indeed in many places in Europe borders are so seamless for high speed rail travel as to be hardly perceptible. The development of high-speed rail in Europe has revolutionized long distance travel, with many of what were the world's busiest air corridors now being the most popular high-speed rail routes instead. The European Union is taking a more and more active role in railway policy, trying to unify — sometimes deliberately chosen for their incompatibility — incompatible national standards and make cross-border open access to the rail network easier. The EU also prioritizes certain rail corridors and provides funding for their improvement.

Other East Asian countries have sought to emulate the success of high-speed rail services in Japan and Europe by building networks of their own. In particular, China has been going on a building spree of new rail lines, and now boasts the longest high-speed rail network in the world, including an "international" connection to Hong Kong that was completed in 2018. Other countries have also gotten into the game: Turkey is the first country outside East Asia or Europe to have HSR, Saudi Arabia and Morocco became the first countries in the Middle East North Africa region with high speed rail. Many other plans were canceled due to the 2008 economic crisis, or have been put on hold perhaps indefinitely. Speed records for rail vehicles are still being set and depending on what you count are either held by France (fastest wheel on rails train), Japan (fastest maglev) or a Siemens-built locomotive on German tracks (the French record is of a multiple unit, not a locomotive hauled train) which is now employed to pull Railjet of ÖBB.

Tilting technology

One of the most expensive factors limiting speed is curve radius. Many railway lines were built in the 19th century following river valleys or other features or had to avoid encroaching on the land of certain landowners and are thus rather curvy. In mountainous areas lines were sometimes deliberately built curvy to allow heavy and underpowered steam trains to climb the slopes, sometimes with spirals where long trains would pass over themselves. Engineers in several countries were tasked with allowing trains to go faster on existing or only moderately upgraded track either to deliver HSR earlier to more people or to avoid the daunting investment of new construction.

England, which had a curvy legacy network but was at the time averse to spend much on infrastructure and Italy, which has the Alps in the North and the Apennines along its spine were at the forefront of this development. Both countries saw the solution in a train tilting to decrease lateral forces, similar to what motorcyclists do. There was the question of "active tilt", i.e., the carriages being tilted by motors hydraulics and so on or "passive tilt" where the carriages would be moved by the inertia of the train entering the curve. British Rail developed the "Advanced Passenger Train" (APT), the first train with active tilt in passenger service. However, the APT was plagued with teething issues, among them motion sickness experienced by journalists on a test run, and thus the project was canceled and the patents sold to Italian companies. The Italians meanwhile developed a series of trains with passive tilt called "Pendolino", which has become the generic name of tilting trains in many languages, even though it is still trademarked. Italian tilting train technology enjoys a good reputation and is exported to the British Isles among other places.

Not all tilting trains meet the common definitions of high speed rail but they are usually the fastest trains on any given route. In some countries — notably Germany — there have been problems with certain tilting trains leading to the tilting mechanism being disabled or their premature withdrawal from service.

By region and country

Generally speaking, high-speed rail networks are most developed in East Asia and western Europe.

Africa

• Morocco began a high-speed TGV service between Tangier and Casablanca in 2018. It is run by ONCF, the state railway.

Asia

HSR services in East Asia (click map to enlarge)

HSR services in Central Asia and the Middle East (click map to enlarge)

China

See also: Rail travel in China

• China Railway High-speed (中国高速铁路) (CRH) – The only high-speed trains in the world that offer sleeper cabins on longer routes due to the vast distances covered. Cross-border services run via Guangzhou and Shenzhen to West Kowloon Railway Station in Hong Kong. A line from Kunming to Vientiane, Laos opened in 2023, crossing the border into Laos at Mohan/Boten, before continuing on to Vientiane via the popular tourist destinations of Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. However, speeds on the Lao section are limited to 160 km/h.

Indonesia

The first high-speed rail line in Southeast Asia, branded Whoosh, began operations on 1st October 2023, running between Jakarta and Bandung. Plans have been mooted to extend the line onward to Surabaya, but construction has not begun on the extension yet.

Japan

See also: Rail travel in Japan

• Shinkansen (新幹線), also known as the bullet train. The original high-speed rail service, operated by the JR companies that are the privatized successors of Japan's state railways. Trains are fast, clean and on time, but prices are higher than in Europe or other Asian countries. While the network reaches all of Japan's main islands it is low on links outside of the main length of the main islands. The Shinkansen finally reached Hokkaido in 2016 and extensions further into the island are planned are to open gradually until the early 2030s. While Japan's legacy rail network is built to 1,067 mm (42.0 in) gauge, all Shinkansen lines are built to standard gauge due to the higher requirements of faster trains.

Saudi Arabia

The Haramain High Speed Railway connects Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City. Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca, but can travel between Jeddah and Medina.

South Korea

Main article: High-speed rail in South Korea

High-speed rail in South Korea is a good and fast way to get to the places it covers. However, be prepared to pay somewhat costly fares.

• Korea Train eXpress (한국고속철도) (KTX). The KTX is often promoted as an indigenous Korean development, though it is in truth derived from the TGV. The Seoul - Busan route in particular helped ease congestion on one of the country's busiest highways and reduce flights on one of the world's busiest flight corridors. Proposals for an undersea tunnel to Jeju are variously made due to the immense popularity of the island and the strain flights to Jeju put on domestic airport capacity.

Taiwan

• Taiwan High Speed Rail (台灣高速鐵路) (THSR), built using Japanese Shinkansen technology. A single line connects the north and south of the island along its western shore. The THSR has led to the elimination of domestic flights along the west coast. Early bird fares offer discounts up to 35% of the regular walk-up fare which is less of a spread than the difference between early bird and walkup fares in Europe but still unusual for east Asian HSR.

Turkey

Turkish State Railways' Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT) (literally high-speed train) has three routes in operation originating in Ankara. One links to several stations on both sides of the Bosphorus in Istanbul via Eskişehir and another branches off from that line to serve Konya. The third extends east to Sivas. Tickets tend to be rather affordable, but trains can book out rather quickly, so you should book ahead even though prices are fixed. Plans to extend the network as well as construction are underway.

Uzbekistan

A 334 km (208 mi) line links three major cities in Uzbekistan. From the capital Tashkent, trains travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h (160 mph) to Samarkand and Bukhara. Trains are operated on the Russian gauge by Uzbekistan Railways.

Europe

See also: Rail travel in Europe

HSR routes and line speeds in Europe (click map to enlarge)

HSR operators in Europe

Cross-border

Europe is the only continent with a truly international high-speed rail network, and therefore has several operators linking multiple countries together. There is a reasonable level of integration and cooperation between these companies, allowing passengers to purchase through-tickets on journeys that use more than one company and cross several borders.

• Renfe's AVE connects Spanish cities to destinations in southern France: Avignon, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse.
• Eurostar connects Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Eurostar absorbed Thalys in 2024. Services to and from the UK require passengers to pass through customs and immigration, whereas EU-only services operate the same as any domestic train. Major cities served: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Liège, Lille, London, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Rotterdam.
• The Deutsche Bahn ICE crosses into most of Germany's neighbors (Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, but not Luxembourg, Poland, or the Czech Republic). Major cities served outside of Germany: Amsterdam, Basel, Bern, Brussels, Innsbruck, Paris, Salzburg, Strasbourg, Vienna, Zurich.
• Railjet trains cross from Austria into some neighboring countries, namely the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Italy, but are limited to 160 km/h (99 mph) outside of Austria and Germany due to infrastructure concerns. Major cities served: Budapest, Munich, Prague, Venice, Vienna, Zurich.
• SNCF's TGV crosses borders into many of France's neighbors, namely Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland (where the service is known as TGV Lyria). The service between France and Germany is jointly operated by the SNCF and Deutsche Bahn, with ICE and TGV trains running on both sides of the border. A similar arrangement works between the SNCF and Spanish company Renfe for journeys between France and Spain. Major cities served outside of France: Barcelona, Basel, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Stuttgart, Turin
• The Swiss, German and Italian railways jointly run a train service with a top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph) from Frankfurt to Milan and back once daily. The service is branded as Eurocity Express by DB but shows up as a normal EuroCity in Swiss and Italian schedules. Tickets can be bought and schedules in English obtained from Deutsche Bahn. Intermediate stops include Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Basel and Bern, plus several resort towns in western Switzerland.

Austria

While several new and upgraded lines have a design speed of 250 km/h, actual maximum speed in daily operations is limited to 230 km/h, which is reached by the Austrian locomotive hauled Railjet and ICE trainsets operated by ÖBB (Austrian State Railways) and Deutsche Bahn (German State Railways). The fare structure of ÖBB is similar to DB, though sometimes walk-up fares are a bit cheaper.

Belgium

Due to the country's small size, Belgium's high-speed network is centered around international services, and accordingly all high-speed services in the country are operated by foreign companies (Deutsche Bahn, Eurostar, and SNCF) rather than by the National Railway Company. Brussels is nonetheless connected domestically to Antwerp and Liege by high-speed lines.

France

See also: Rail travel in France

The French national rail company SNCF operates the famous Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) to most major cities in the country, along an extensive network of purpose-built lines (270-320 km/h) and in part along older and much slower lines. There is also a low-cost high-speed service run by the SNCF but separate to the TGV, called Ouigo, which operates from Marne-la-Vallée (near Disneyland Paris) on some routes north, west and south. Most lines connect to one of the great Paris termini on one end. The erstwhile rapid pace of new construction has slowed down considerably and President Macron has publicly questioned the need for any high speed lines beyond those already existing.

Germany

See also: Rail travel in Germany

Deutsche Bahn's Intercity-Express (ICE) operates to many cities around Germany, though the network is slightly less well-developed than other European countries (but catching up fast). The older Intercity trains are capable of speeds up to 200 km/h and are not marketed as "high-speed" even though similar trains in other countries get this designation. On specific routes there are "ICE Sprinter" which only stop at major cities and are usually fast enough to be more attractive to business travelers than planes. In December 2017 a new line opened slashing travel times between Berlin and Munich from six hours to less than four which saw an enormous increase in passengers, the line carrying one million people in its first hundred days. The German ICE trains largely follow something called Taktfahrplan in German - in essence that means that trains will leave in regular intervals (e.g. one train every hour, every half hour, every two hours or the likes) which makes it much easier to memorize schedules. Work to ensure connections "fit perfectly" at major interchange stations (like they do in Switzerland) is ongoing as of 2020 and will likely not be anywhere close to completion by 2030.

Italy

See also: Rail travel in Italy

Italy is served by two high-speed rail companies. The Frecciarossa is run by Trenitalia, the Italian national railway company. Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV) is a private company, with Ferrari being one of the investors. They serve their routes with a TGV-derived train known as the Italo.

Netherlands

See also: Rail travel in the Netherlands

Due to its small size, high-speed rail in the Netherlands is primarily centred around international services. The Netherlands has one dedicated high-speed line and a number of improved traditional railway lines. Services are operated by Deutsche Bahn and Eurostar (formerly Thalys), rather than by Nederlandse Spoorwegen. High-speed Eurostar trains run between Amsterdam and Rotterdam Centraal stations, via Schiphol Airport, and across the border into Belgium. ICE Trains from Germany run along traditional-speed lines. There was a brief period in late 2012/early 2013 when a train under the name "Fyra" was run as the Dutch high-speed rail service, however, technical problems caused the service to be withdrawn after barely a month of service. Since then, the "Fyra" trains have been replaced by refurbished intercity cars that run on the high-speed line at a lower speed (160 km/h compared to 300 km/h on the Eurostar). New trains running at 200 km/h top speed are expected to replace the intercity cars from 2020.

Russia

Russian Railways' Sapsan (Сапсан) has services from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The line to Nizhny Novgorod was served by Sapsan trains, but now the somewhat slower Strizh (Стриж) trains run at 200 km/h top speed. A few Strizh services run all the way to Berlin. Some other lines are either under construction or planned, including the Moscow–Kazan line which could be the first section of a high-speed line to Beijing.

Spain

Renfe's Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) is one of the largest systems in the world, second only to China in total length. While the economic crisis since 2008 has slowed the boom of new construction for the time-being (and the connection to Portugal has been put on hold indefinitely), Renfe has lowered prices to keep passenger numbers up. In addition to AVE, there is also Avant with top speeds up to 250 km/h. Spanish high speed rail operates on standard gauge to ensure compatibility to the French network, but there are trains capable of changing onto the broad gauge legacy network.

Switzerland

Switzerland, being small, compact and very mountainous, has no high-speed rail lines except for two tunnels mainly intended for freight, though it does receive ICE and TGV trains from Germany and France respectively, which make use of classic lines. The Lötschberg Base Tunnel allows trains to run at 250 km/h along its 35-km length. Similarly, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, while primarily intended for freight trains, has a design speed of 250 km/h which makes it a "high-speed" line. It shortens many trips through the Alps by half an hour and relieves freight bottlenecks, despite its short length compared to other high-speed lines. Switzerland's national railway SBB has since acquired rolling stock capable of top speeds of 250 km/h which is marketed under the name "Giruno" (derived from the Romansh word for buzzard) on international routes to/from Italy using the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The train is also planned to receive certification for Germany and Austria some time 2020 or 2021.

United Kingdom

See also: Rail travel in Great Britain

The UK has one high-speed line, between London St Pancras station and the Channel Tunnel. Domestic services are operated on the line by Southeastern Highspeed between London, Canterbury, Dover and several other towns in Kent. The trains, nicknamed the "Javelin", operate at 140 mph (225 km/h). Other intercity routes marketed as "high-speed" or "express" are slower, generally operating at a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h). Indeed, new intercity trains being introduced on two main lines are capable of 140 mph but are limited to 125 mph due to infrastructure concerns. Although a national high-speed rail network is approved by Parliament and under construction, it is not scheduled to open until 2026, with later phases opening in 2027 and 2033.

Other countries and regions

While high-speed rail services have been proposed in Canada and Australia, the popularity of private car ownership and air travel, as well as political wrangling, mean that high-speed rail is likely to remain a distant dream for the foreseeable future.

In the United States, Amtrak's Acela service on the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington has trains that briefly achieve a top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h), but due to its relatively low average speed, is not generally considered a high-speed service. Brightline connects Miami and Orlando, Florida, with a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). Brightline West, which is expected to open in 2027, is planned to link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area with a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h). California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is under construction in California to connect the Central Valley towns of Bakersfield and Merced via Fresno, with completion expected in 2029. The privately-owned Texas Central Railway, meanwhile, is actively acquiring land to build a Shinkansen line (in partnership with Japan Rail) connecting Dallas and Houston in under 90 minutes, at a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h). Completion is optimistically expected in 2026, but as of 2022, construction has yet to start.

India began construction of its first high speed rail line in 2017 between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, using Japanese Shinkansen technology allowing up to 300 km/h (190 mph). The first sections of the line may open in 2027, and there are ambitious plans to extend the network nationwide in the 2030s.

Australia has been talking about high-speed rail since the 1980s, with grand plans announced before elections and quietly shelved soon thereafter. The 2022 iteration envisions a line starting between New South Wales's two largest cities of Sydney and Newcastle, with eventual plans to extend the line north towards Brisbane and southwest towards Melbourne, but construction has yet to start.

In other parts of the world, high-speed rail links are often 'announced' as part of a larger infrastructure investment, and then quietly dropped later.

Tickets and prices

In many regards railways that run high-speed lines have taken a page out of the play book of (no frills) aviation. This means an emphasis on fast turnaround times as well as a ticketing system intended to maximize occupancy as well as revenue. As a customer, be prepared for two things: relatively low (and widely advertised) special offers for off-peak trains or early booking and high walk-up fares. SNCF and DB are particularly notorious for this with tickets "from" €29 or even €19, but reaching well into the triple digits when bought on the day of travel or on the train. In Britain the same holds true even for non high-speed trains.

Japan on the other hand offers relatively few discounts and comparatively high fixed prices. In South Korea, high-speed trains have fixed prices that are significantly more expensive than conventional trains, but nevertheless much more reasonable than those in Japan. In Taiwan, high-speed trains have early bird fares that give up to 35% discount off the walkup rate. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all offer rail passes that can be used only by foreign tourists, and these can be used to limit the damage if you are planning to do a lot of long distance travelling, but are generally not worth it if you plan to stick to one city or its immediate vicinity.

If the average of all tickets sold is taken, HSR tickets are similarly priced in Spain, France and Germany, while being significantly more expensive in Japan.

The Acela in the U.S.A. is even more expensive on a per km basis than the Shinkansen, even though it is not particularly fast.

High-speed rail in China is very expensive for the average working class Chinese, but is reasonably priced by Western standards.

Many countries have discount cards with an annual fee (for example, about €60). With a discount card (e.g., BahnCard in Germany) you will get a discount of 25% or 50% (depending on the card) on the fare. There are often widely advertised short-term versions of such discount cards, which may be worth it after a few trips – but read the fine print carefully as they often need to be canceled in time lest they turn into a yearly subscription.

Many railways offering high-speed service have returned to a three class system that was abolished in Europe in the 1950s with the withdrawal of (old) first class and the "uptitling" of second and third class. On many high-speed trains even regular "coach" or "second" class offers more comfort than its equivalent on slower trains. But if you (or your employer) are willing to shell out top euro, you can get business class, premium class, club class or any of the various names the marketing department has come up with. Whether the extra money is worth it depends on your perception and on the different operators. The included bonuses (such as newspapers, breakfast or coffee) are usually spelled out on the website of the operator, which usually also shows pictures of their "premium" seats. Various railways also have customer loyalty programs not unlike miles for airlines. Those are usually only worth it if you travel frequently with one operator, though discount cards at a low price can pay for themselves after one or two trips – if you don't forget to cancel it in time, that is.

Some operators have started customer loyalty programs not unlike those in aviation. However, unlike airlines, train operators have not yet entered wide-reaching cooperations and as such your frequent traveler status will likely only benefit you in the country the railway in question operates. One exception to this rule is Railteam, an association of the main Western and Central European railroads (Eurostar, DB, SNCF, SBB-CFF-FFS, NS-International and NMBS/SNCB), which offers some use of lounges in major hubs, but does not for instance offer reward points to be collected for the DB loyalty program on SNCF journeys as similar alliances for airlines often do.

Stay safe

High-speed rail is one of the safest ways to travel. Rail travel in general has a better safety record than road travel: car drivers are ten times more likely to die in an accident than railway passengers. In particular, dedicated high-speed rail tracks usually do not have level crossings, tend to be built and upgraded with the latest safety features, and rely on the most cutting edge technology to prevent accidents. If systems don't malfunction, it is impossible for the driver to exceed the maximum permitted velocity either by accident or on purpose. In fact, some high profile crashes were due to the system to prevent excessive speeds being disabled for a test run or not yet installed on an upgraded legacy line. In general, rail safety systems always "fail towards the safe side" (for example a signal that's broken will mean "stop"), and the special equipment for HSR is no exception to this 19th-century rule. As such, high-speed rail lines tend to have better safety records than conventional rail lines. As a testament to the safety of high-speed rail, Japan's Shinkansen has never had a fatal crash since the network began operation, not even during major earthquakes and tsunamis.

Environmental aspects

High-speed rail travel is usually regarded as an environmentally-friendly way to get around, as the carbon footprint is almost always lower than that of aviation, usually than that of driving and sometimes less than on standard rail or bus services. This comparison of "greenness" of course depends on how the electricity used is produced. The initial construction of the infrastructure also produces noticeable environmental effects, which serves to complicate such comparisons. Most rail companies draw their electricity from a combination of railway only power plants and the general grid. Due to various technical and economic considerations railway power plants are often hydro-power, nuclear or coal fired thermal plants with wind, solar and gas fired plants historically playing marginal roles. However, due to increasing costs of fuels and in order to market rail travel as "green" more and more railway companies strive to increase their share of renewable energy. Countries like Sweden or Switzerland historically supply a lot of their railway electricity through hydropower, while France relies on nuclear energy. Germany and China rely a lot on coal, but both have heavily invested in renewable energies since the turn of the millennium.

Even faster

Magnetic levitation, or maglev, trains have the potential to travel at speeds in excess of 600 km/h (370 mph), largely due to the reduced friction from levitating above the track. There are only six in operation, all in either Japan, South Korea or China, and most operate at low speeds of around 100 km/h (62 mph) as part of an intra-city public transit system. The most notable system and the only high speed one in commercial operation is the Shanghai maglev (上海磁浮), which makes the 30.5-kilometre (19.0 mi) journey from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Longyang Road near Shanghai's city center, hitting a top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph), although the average speed is 265 km/h (165 mph).

No intercity maglev lines are in operation, although Japan has started building their first line between Tokyo and Nagoya. The line was supposed to open in 2027, but as of 2022 remains mired in land acquisition limbo.