Top 10 Fastest Trains In The World

Since the launch of the first public railway in 1825, trains have changed beyond recognition. Some of them don’t even need traditional tracks and wheels anymore — they hover on a magnetic cushion, held above the track by an electromagnetic field. Over the past 30 years, many passenger trains have come to resemble futuristic spacecraft.

High-speed rail has taken the world by storm. Countries across Europe and Asia keep racing to push the limits, and speed records keep falling as a result. AdmiGram.com presents the ten fastest trains running today.

Top 10 Fastest Trains in the World

10. Thalys (Europe)

Train: TGV PBKA Alstom
Maximum speed: 300 km/h (186 mph)

Thalys passenger trains connect all major business and tourist routes in Europe. Two models of TGV-series trains, built by the French company Alstom, operate this high-speed service. For many Europeans, Thalys is an indispensable way to travel between major cities. Due to infrastructure constraints on Europe’s rail network, the trains’ speed is capped at 300 km/h.

9. Eurostar e320 (Europe)

Train: Eurostar e320 Siemens Velaro
Maximum speed: 320 km/h (199 mph)

One of the newest passenger trains in Europe runs under the English Channel. Sixteen Siemens Velaro cars have been carrying up to 1,000 passengers per trip since 2015. The train stretches 400 meters and tops out at 320 km/h. It currently connects the European capitals of London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

8. Korail KTX (South Korea)

Train: KTX-II Hyundai Rotem
Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph)

KTX is the high-speed rail system operated by Korea Railroad Corporation, a state-owned company. Its flagship is the KTX-II, built by Hyundai Rotem, made up of two motor cars bookending eight passenger cars. Depending on the track, its speed ranges from 305 to 330 km/h.

7. Deutsche Bahn ICE (Germany)

Train: ICE 3 Siemens AG
Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph)

Not to be outdone by its neighbors, Germany built a dedicated high-speed line between Berlin and Munich. The newest Siemens AG train, the ICE 3, runs the route: 200 meters long, eight cars, carrying up to 500 passengers at speeds of up to 330 km/h.

6. Haramain (Saudi Arabia)

Train: Talgo 350 SRO
Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph)

These high-speed trains, instantly recognizable by their duck-bill-shaped nose, have run between Mecca and Medina since 2018. A fleet of 36 Talgo 350 SRO trains is expected to carry about 60 million passengers a year, with each train comfortably seating just over 400 passengers at speeds up to 330 km/h.

5. RENFE (Spain)

Train: AVE 103 Siemens Velaro
Maximum speed: 350 km/h (217 mph)

Spain’s state railway network, RENFE, is one of the most extensive high-speed systems in Europe, with the AVE network linking nearly all major Spanish cities. In fact, Spain ranks second in the world — behind only China — in total high-speed rail length. RENFE’s flagship, the AVE 103 by Siemens Velaro, travels at speeds up to 350 km/h.

4. Frecciarossa (Italy)

Train: Frecciarossa 1000 Hitachi Rail Italy
Maximum speed: 360 km/h (224 mph)

Thanks to Italy’s newly built high-speed line, the Frecciarossa 1000 cruises at up to 360 km/h in regular service — a record for passenger rail in Europe — and has hit 400 km/h during test runs. The “Red Arrow,” built by Hitachi Rail Italy, comes in eight- or sixteen-car configurations, always with a dining car, and can carry up to 1,000 passengers at once.

3. Shinkansen (Japan)

Trains: Shinkansen E1-E7 Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Maximum speed: 360 km/h (224 mph)

High-speed rail in Japan began in 1964, when the first “bullet train” launched just ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Today, around three dozen Shinkansen variants run on Japan’s rail network, with the E1–E7 series from Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries doing most of the work at speeds of up to 320 km/h. JR East’s next-generation ALFA-X prototype is being developed to reach 360 km/h in commercial service. Separately, on April 21, 2015, Japan’s experimental L0 maglev train — a different technology from the wheeled Shinkansen fleet — set the all-time speed record for guided rail vehicles at 603 km/h on a test track, though it isn’t in passenger service.

2. Fuxing Hao (China)

Train: CR400AF CRRC Qingdao Sifang
Maximum speed: 400 km/h (249 mph)

China leads the world in high-speed passenger rail, running one of the largest high-speed fleets on the planet and carrying enormous passenger volumes every day across its ever-expanding network. The CR400-series Fuxing Hao trains, in various configurations, seat between 500 and 1,200 passengers and travel at speeds of 350 to 400 km/h.

1. Shanghai Maglev (China)

Train: Shanghai Maglev Transrapid Siemens
Maximum speed: 431 km/h (268 mph)

The Shanghai Maglev is the fastest commercially operating train in the world, connecting Longyang Road metro station with Pudong International Airport — 30 km in about 7 minutes and 20 seconds. It’s one of only a handful of maglev lines running in regular commercial service worldwide, and by far the fastest of them, using magnetic levitation for its entire journey. For safety reasons, its speed is capped at 431 km/h.

image on top: TGr_79 / Flickr