The fastest trains in the world

2025 marks the bicentenary of the world’s archetypal rider railway enactment – the Stockton and Darlington way successful England.

The archetypal locomotives were susceptible of hitting 15mph – a wide betterment implicit a equine – and implicit the past 200 years apical speeds (and the exertion improvements allowing this progression) person accrued drastically. First steam powerfulness ruled the roost, past diesels ousted the traction and nowadays electrical is the de rigueur prime for high-speed railways and with bully reason: reliable and accelerated services betwixt cities tin render home – and adjacent planetary - flights by level to beryllium unnecessary.

Here, we observe velocity by looking astatine the 10 fastest trains ever, starting astatine fig 10:

10. Renfe Class 103 – 251mph

After China, Spain is listed arsenic having the astir high-speed railways, truthful it makes consciousness to commencement our countdown of the 10 fastest trains with a Spanish entrant.  The Renfe Class 103 is utilized connected high-speed lines passim the state by the state-owned bid operating company, Renfe. Constructed by Siemens, it is portion of the Velaro household of high-speed trains – a sanction that’ll harvest up elsewhere successful this list.

While the Class 103 trains person been cleared to tally astatine speeds of up to 217mph, however, during investigating connected the enactment betwixt Madrid and Zaragoza connected 16 July 2006, it deed a maximum velocity of 251mph betwixt Alcalá de Henares and Calatayud. This is some the existent nationalist obstruction velocity grounds for Spain, and besides the existent velocity grounds for a mean bid series successful modular configuration. 

10. Renfe Class 103 – 251mph

This is some the existent nationalist obstruction velocity grounds for Spain, and besides the existent velocity grounds for a mean bid series successful modular configuration. Other routes it operates connected see Madrid and Barcelona (with the quickest travel times being 2 hours, 30 minutes) and Madrid and Malaga.

The Velaro is utilized crossed the world: for instance, a fig of the trains run successful Russia nether the Sapsan moniker and Turkey, wherever it is referred to arsenic the TCDD HT80000 class.

9. LIMRV – 256mph

America isn’t known arsenic a high-speed obstruction superpower, but for a play of clip the satellite grounds resided successful the States, acknowledgment to the quirky one-off LIMRV.  Standing for Linear Induction Motor Research Vehicle, it was designed to trial a Linear Induction Motor - which is present astir commonly utilized successful maglev trains – with the electrical powerfulness coming from a 3000 hp craft state turbine from a crashed NASA plane.

Following low-speed testing, it was transferred to the High-Speed Ground Test Center, which was designed by the Department of Transport to trial hovertrain concepts.

9. LIMRV – 256mph

Calculations showed the LIMRV needed conscionable implicit 10 miles of way to deed its maximum speed, however, the DoT could lone spend to money a 6.2-mile conception of track. In bid to get astir this problem, 2 Pratt & Whitney J52-P3 pitchy engines that were surplus to requirements by the Air Force were added to the conveyance successful bid to summation the vehicle’s acceleration.

On August 14, 1974, the LIMRV prototype acceptable the satellite velocity grounds for air-powered wheel-on-rail vehicles astatine 255 mph, a grounds that inactive stands today. The LIMRV survives to this time and is housed astatine the Pueblo Aircraft Museum.

8. Hyundai HEMU-430X – 262mph

Hyundai whitethorn beryllium a precise ample car maker, but the South Korean elephantine besides makes trains and is liable for the state being the 4th – aft China, Japan and France – to make trains that tin run supra 260mph.

Standing for High-Speed Electric Multiple Unit 430 km/h eXperimental, the bid was specifically designed to deed that people and its improvement has spawned commercialized variants. On 28 March 2013, the bid deed a maximum velocity of 262mph, acold quicker than the erstwhile nationalist grounds of 186mph, with this tally occurring aft 138 akin runs that were conducted implicit a 10-month period.

8. Hyundai HEMU-430X – 262mph

As mentioned successful the erstwhile slide, this bid is simply a one-off prototype, however, its improvement has spawned a passenger-carrying variant, the KTX-Cheongryong, which entered work connected 1 May 2024 connected the Gyeongbu high-speed railway, betwixt Seoul and Bussan.

Performance statistic for trains – beyond apical speeds and travel times – are often hard to travel by, but Hyundai said the KTX-Cheongryong tin accelerate from 0-186mph successful 230 seconds. Originally, the trains were planned to run on the lines successful astatine up to 217mph, however, this was aboriginal revised to 230mph.

7. 300X – 275mph

The 300X (or Class 955) is simply a six-car experimental Shinkansen that was built successful 1994 to trial improvements to aboriginal Japanese trains that run astatine up to 186mph oregon more. As portion of its investigating life, the bid undertook a fig of high-speed runs successful 1995 and 1996, which culminated successful it signaling a caller Japanese velocity grounds – that inactive stands contiguous – connected 26 July 1996 erstwhile it deed 275mph connected the Tokaido Shinkansen betwixt Maibara and Kyoto.

Prior to that run, it deed 265mph connected 11 July 1996 and connected 21 September 1995 it recorded a maximum velocity of 220mph.

7. 300X – 275mph

One of the powerfulness cars carries a sticker commemorating the nationalist velocity record. As you would expect from a trial train, the 2 extremity cars differed successful looks, with each 1 carrying unsocial chemoreceptor designs, portion a fig of pantographs designs were utilized connected it passim its operational life.

Withdrawn from usage connected 1 February 2002, parts of the bid past into preservation today: The extremity car No.955-1 is preserved outdoors astatine the RTRI large-scale upwind passageway trial installation successful Maibara, Shiga, portion the different extremity car No.955-6 was initially preserved wrong JR Central's Hamamatsu Works and was aboriginal moved to the SCMaglev and Railway Park successful 2010.

6. China Railway CRH380A – 302mph

Unlike the different 3 families of Chinese high-speed trains which are based connected overseas designs, this people of bid was developed and manufactured successful the country, partially replacing Japanese technology. Designed for regular enactment connected the Beijing to Shanghai high-speed line, usually it runs astatine up to 217mph.

However, connected 3 December 2010, an illustration of the people deed 302mph connected a agelong of the enactment betwixt Zaozhuang, Shandong province, and Bengbu, Anhui province. Prior to the line’s opening – and the train’s instauration connected the way – travel times betwixt Beijing and Shanghai stood astatine 10 hours, however, this was reduced to conscionable 4 hours.

6. China Railway CRH380A – 302mph

According to a section media study aft the run, the acquisition of being onboard was similar “flying connected land”, though passengers noted the thrust was “smooth” and akin to being connected regular bid travelling astatine conscionable implicit 200mph.

"We person done a batch of experiments connected making the bid airtight and streamlined connected the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed obstruction enactment and utilized our probe findings connected this train," said Zhang Shuguang, lawman main technologist with the Ministry of Railways was quoted arsenic saying by China Daily. "This operational experimentation shows China's starring presumption successful the sector.”

5. China Railway CRH3 – 303mph

Looking astatine the representation above, you mightiness beryllium forgiven for reasoning this people looks precise akin to an ICE3 oregon a Eurostar E320 (or indeed, the Renfe Class 103 seen earlier) and you would beryllium correct. In the aforesaid mode car manufacturers usage the aforesaid level for aggregate models, the CRH3 is simply a Chinese mentation of the Siemens Velaro household of high-speed trains.

The halfway quality betwixt the Chinese bid – which runs on the Beijing–Tianjin railway line, among others – is its width: its assemblage is 300mm wider than its European cousins successful bid to instrumentality vantage of a wider loading gauge.

5. China Railway CRH3 – 303mph

What is possibly astir absorbing is that this is the fastest unmodified bid successful this list: dissimilar the trains that inhabit numbers 1 to four, this was a modular set: carriages weren’t taken retired of the formation, nor were peculiar wheels fitted and the energy proviso wasn’t upgraded either.

Some things are similar, however: the trial tally connected 9 January 2011 occurred connected a conception of enactment that wasn’t unfastened to revenue-earning postulation and the halfway intent of the tally appeared to beryllium to amusement that the Chinese are capable to tally high-speed bid services.

4. TGV Atlantique – 320mph

Two grounds runs a twelvemonth occurred a twelvemonth isolated successful 1989 and 1990 with a modified TGV Atlantique trainset – with the fig of carriages reduced from 10 to four, among different changes – with people speeds of 117 and 140 metres per second, which culminated successful a grounds tally of 320mph oregon 143 metres per 2nd connected 18 May 1990.

Similarly to the follow-up TGV grounds successful 2007 (see fig 3 successful this list), the runs took spot connected a agelong of enactment that hadn’t yet been opened for rider services, with an country of the way that included a 2.5% downhill conception into the Loire Valley targeted for the high-speed trials.

4. TGV Atlantique – 320mph

It is just to accidental the SNCF threw the room descend astatine achieving the satellite record. As good arsenic removing carriages from the set, modifications included the fitment of larger wheels to the powercars, on with thicker brake pads – which were lone bully for 2 exigency stops.

Meanwhile, airdams were installed betwixt the powerfulness cars and trailer cars successful bid to trim resistance astatine precocious speed, portion a removable spoiler was besides fitted to the chemoreceptor of the trailing powercar. These changes – and others not mentioned present – aimed to trim resistance by 10%, with 2000 hours of labour needed to modify the bid for the high-speed run.

3. TGV POS – 357mph

When astir radical deliberation of a train, they representation thing that runs connected rails – alternatively than levitating supra tracks - truthful successful galore ways this is really the fastest bid successful the world. This apical 10 database is peppered with TGV velocity records and the tally connected 3 April 2007 was akin successful quality to erstwhile attempts with everything being planned to the nth grade beforehand.

Codenamed Operation V150 – the people velocity for the bid to deed successful metres per 2nd – the high-speed runs took spot connected a conception of the LGV Est enactment (which connects Paris and Strasbourg) anterior to its opening, utilizing a modified train.

3. TGV POS – 357mph

As such, betwixt the powerfulness cars were 3 modified carriages and the carriages closest to the powerfulness cars were each fitted with 2 powered bogies, giving a maximum powerfulness output of 26,284 hp compared with 12,500 hp for a modular TGV POS.

Meanwhile, the voltage of the overhead wires that supply powerfulness to electrical trains was accrued to 31Kv from the modular 25Kv and the conception of enactment was specifically chosen for having gentle curves and downhill sections.

These preparations enabled the bid to bushed the people speed: its highest recorded velocity was 159 metres per second, which was achieved betwixt Meuse and Champagne-Ardenne TGV stations.

2. MLX01 – 361mph

Standing for Magnetic Levitation, eXperiment, the 9 experimental vehicles were built betwixt 1996 and 2001 successful Japan and diagnostic assorted extremity designs including a wedge-nose design, a cusp-nose plan and adjacent 1 with an ultra-long nose. The trains were tally betwixt 1996 and 2011 and during this play they broke the velocity grounds 3 times with its fastest tally occurring connected 2 December 2003 erstwhile a three-car acceptable deed 361mph.

Not lone that but the prototypes acceptable 2 unmanned velocity records: a three-car acceptable recorded a velocity of 341.8 mph connected 24 December 1997 and a five-car acceptable achieved 340.5 mph connected 18 March 1999.

2. MLX01 – 361mph

Additionally, the MLX01 besides acceptable assorted satellite comparative passing velocity records, wherever 2 trains would walk each other, during its operational life.

Originally mounting a satellite comparative passing velocity grounds of 600 mph successful December 1998, the grounds was breached the adjacent twelvemonth with a caller velocity of 623 mph successful November 1999. This velocity grounds was breached yet again connected 16 November 2004 with a caller velocity of 638 mph which inactive stands today.

1. L0 Series – 375mph

The existent onshore velocity grounds for obstruction vehicles sits with the Japanese L0 maglev train, which has been designed to tally connected the Chūō Shinkansen maglev enactment betwixt Tokyo and Osaka which is presently being built.

When it opens – the existent predicted opening day is 2034 – trains volition tally astatine up to 311mph successful work and they person been designed to not necessitate a driver, with cameras astatine either extremity allowing for distant operations, efficaciously becoming a 1:1 standard trainset.

Although it is planned that the trains person 12-car sets, successful 2015 a shortened seven-car variant broke the velocity grounds twice. On 16 April, a manned acceptable deed a maximum velocity of 367mph, portion 5 days aboriginal the aforesaid portion went marginally faster, hitting 375mph.

1. L0 Series – 375mph

Both grounds runs took spot astatine the Yamanashi maglev trial line, a 26-mile-long investigating installation for maglev trains, wherever units volition routinely tally astatine 300mph. As good arsenic being the fastest bid people successful the world, the L0 Series besides holds the grounds for the longest region travelled successful 1 day.

The existent onshore velocity grounds for obstruction vehicles sits with the Japanese L0 maglev train, which has been designed to tally connected the under-construction Chūō Shinkansen maglev enactment betwixt Tokyo and Osaka.

When it opens – the existent predicted opening day is 2034 – trains volition tally astatine up to 311mph successful work and they person been designed to not necessitate a driver, with cameras astatine either extremity allowing for distant operations, efficaciously becoming a 1:1 standard trainset.

1. L0 Series – 375mph

Although the program is to run the trains arsenic 12-car sets, successful 2015 a shortened seven-car variant broke the velocity grounds twice. On 16 April, a manned acceptable deed a maximum velocity of 367mph, portion 5 days aboriginal the aforesaid portion went marginally faster, hitting 375mph.

Both grounds runs took spot astatine the Yamanashi maglev trial line, a 26-mile-long investigating installation for maglev trains, wherever units volition routinely tally astatine 300mph. As good arsenic being the fastest bid people successful the world, the L0 Series besides holds the grounds for the longest region travelled successful 1 day.

On 10 April 2005, the bid travelled 2426 miles, breaking the erstwhile grounds of 1787 miles which was acceptable successful 2003, however, 4 days later, connected 14 April 2005, the acceptable travelled 2525 miles successful a day.

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