Vehicles & Machines

The Fastest Trains in the World

Passenger trains ranked by the top speed they actually run in regular service, as of October 11, 2026. China’s Fuxing and Indonesia’s Whoosh lead at 350 km/h, and the Shanghai Maglev no longer makes the top spot: it has run at 300 km/h since 2021.

Title frame from the China Fuxing High Speed Bullet Train 350km/h! video

Pictured: the “China Fuxing High Speed Bullet Train 350km/h!” video, for the CR400 Fuxing, tied #1 with a 350 km/h operating speed.

Rank Train / service Max operating speed (km/h) (mph) Country Operator Type In service since Record test speed (km/h)
1CR400 Fuxing (Beijing–Shanghai and other lines)350217ChinaChina RailwayHigh-speed rail2017420
1Whoosh (KCIC400AF, Jakarta–Bandung)350217IndonesiaKCICHigh-speed rail2023385
3Shinkansen E5/H5 Hayabusa (Tokyo–Shin-Aomori)320199JapanJR East / JR HokkaidoHigh-speed rail2011—
3TGV (LGV Est, Paris–Strasbourg)320199FranceSNCF VoyageursHigh-speed rail2007574.8
3ICE 3 (on France’s LGV Est; 300 km/h in Germany)320199GermanyDeutsche BahnHigh-speed rail2000368
3Al Boraq (Tangier–Kenitra)320199MoroccoONCFHigh-speed rail2018—
7KTX-Sancheon (Gyeongbu line)305190South KoreaKorailHigh-speed rail2010—
8Shanghai Maglev (Longyang Road–Pudong Airport)300186ChinaShanghai Maglev Transportation DevelopmentMaglev2004501
8AVE S-103 (Madrid–Barcelona)300186SpainRenfeHigh-speed rail2008403.7
8Frecciarossa 1000 (Rome–Milan)300186ItalyTrenitaliaHigh-speed rail2015—
8THSR 700T (Taipei–Kaohsiung)300186TaiwanTaiwan High Speed RailHigh-speed rail2007315
8Haramain Talgo 350 (Mecca–Medina)300186Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia RailwaysHigh-speed rail2018310
13Sapsan (Moscow–St Petersburg)250155RussiaRussian RailwaysHigh-speed rail2009290
13YHT (Ankara–Istanbul)250155TurkeyTCDD TaşımacılıkHigh-speed rail2009—
15NextGen Acela / Avelia Liberty (Northeast Corridor)241150United StatesAmtrakHigh-speed rail2025—

As of October 11, 2026. Ranking rule: the maximum speed the service is allowed to run at in regular commercial passenger service on its fastest line, as stated by the operator or a reputable source, in km/h with miles per hour converted from it. Design speeds, certified top speeds and test runs are not ranked; where a train runs faster on one line than another, the fastest line counts (so the ICE 3 is listed at its 320 km/h on France’s LGV Est, not Germany’s 300). Ties share a rank, and “In service since” is the year the train or line opened, not the year its top speed was reached.[1] Test records (not ranked): the “Record test speed” column shows the fastest sourced test run for rows where we found one, and a dash means none was sourced. The overall rail record is Japan’s L0 Series maglev at 603 km/h (2015, a test line only); the conventional-rail record is the TGV V150 at 574.8 km/h (2007), and China’s CR450 has reached 453 km/h in testing.[14] Not yet in service: China’s CR450 is meant to run at 400 km/h but, as of today, we found no report that it has entered passenger service, so it is not ranked.[3] Trimmed: the table stops at 15 rows; Eurostar, Uzbekistan’s Afrosiyob (rated 250 km/h), Brightline and other slower services fall outside it. Caveats: some sources credit the Madrid–Barcelona AVE with 310 km/h and the Gyeongbu KTX-Cheongryong with 320 km/h, but the more conservative published figures are used here.

The Top 10

#1 (tie)

CR400 Fuxing — 350 km/h

China’s Fuxing (“Rejuvenation”) trains run at 350 km/h on the Beijing–Shanghai line, a speed restored on September 21, 2017 after the line had been slowed to 300 km/h in 2011.[2] They were designed for a 400 km/h limit and have reached 420 km/h in a coupling test, but 350 km/h is the speed passengers actually get.[2] The faster CR450 is meant to take over at 400 km/h, but it was still finishing testing and design approval in 2026 with no confirmed service date.[3]

#1 (tie)

Whoosh (Jakarta–Bandung) — 350 km/h

Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway opened in October 2023 with a China-built train derived from the CR400AF, and its operator KCIC and Wikipedia both give an operating speed of 350 km/h.[4] The design speed is 420 km/h and a trial run reached 385 km/h.[4] The line is only about 143 km long, so trains spend little time at full speed.

#3 (tie)

Shinkansen E5/H5 Hayabusa — 320 km/h

The E5 entered service in March 2011 at 300 km/h and was raised to 320 km/h between Utsunomiya and Morioka on March 16, 2013.[5] The H5 version, which runs through to Hokkaido, has the same rating but is held to 260 km/h on the Hokkaido Shinkansen and 160 km/h through the Seikan Tunnel.[5] Japan’s Tokaido line, the busiest, runs slower.

#3 (tie)

TGV on LGV Est — 320 km/h

France’s eastern line from Paris toward Strasbourg opened on June 10, 2007 with 320 km/h commercial running, a first for the country, though the track was built to allow up to 350 km/h.[6] Weeks earlier, on April 3, 2007, a special V150 TGV set the conventional-rail world record of 574.8 km/h on that very line, a test run that is not part of the ranking.[6]

#3 (tie)

ICE 3 — 320 km/h in France, 300 km/h in Germany

Germany’s ICE 3 runs at a maximum of 300 km/h at home, for example on the Cologne–Frankfurt line, but is allowed 320 km/h on French lines such as the LGV Est, where it has run alongside TGVs since June 2007.[7] The class is certified for 330 km/h and reached 368 km/h on trial runs, neither of which counts here.[7] The video shows the 300 km/h German leg.

#3 (tie)

Al Boraq — 320 km/h

Africa’s first high-speed service opened on November 15, 2018 and is still the continent’s only one running at 320 km/h.[8] The speed applies only to the roughly 186 km high-speed line from Tangier to Kenitra; the Kenitra–Casablanca stretch is conventional track limited to 160 km/h.[8] A 430 km extension to Marrakech began construction in April 2025.[8]

#7

KTX-Sancheon — 305 km/h

South Korea’s home-built high-speed train is listed with a 305 km/h maximum operating speed on the Gyeongbu line, which is built for 350 km/h.[9] The newer KTX-Cheongryong, in service since May 2024, is rated for 320 km/h, but sources say infrastructure upgrades expected by 2028 are needed before it can run that fast, so 305 km/h is used here.[9]

#8 (tie)

Shanghai Maglev — 300 km/h

The world’s first commercial high-speed maglev links Longyang Road with Pudong Airport, about 30 km in roughly 8 minutes. It opened in 2004 and ran a famous 431 km/h peak until May 2021, when the cruising speed was cut to 300 km/h; travel guides say the 431 km/h schedule has not been restored.[10] That is why it no longer tops lists that still quote 431 km/h, and its 501 km/h record was set in a 2003 test.[10]

#8 (tie)

AVE S-103 on Madrid–Barcelona — 300 km/h

Spain’s Siemens Velaro-based S-103 is certified for 350 km/h and reached 403.7 km/h in a test, but it runs in service at 300 km/h on the Madrid–Barcelona line that opened in 2008.[11] Some references say the line was cleared for 310 km/h, a figure that conflicts with Wikipedia’s 300 km/h, so it is shown at the lower number.[11]

#8 (tie)

Frecciarossa 1000 — 300 km/h

Trenitalia’s flagship was designed for up to 400 km/h and a 360 km/h commercial target, but Italy’s infrastructure limits it to 300 km/h, which is also its certified service speed.[12] It began running between Milan and Rome in April 2015.[12]

Trains High-Speed Rail Maglev Speed Records

Sources

  1. Method and cross-checks: Wikipedia pages for each train and line, as surfaced by search summaries (the pages themselves could not be opened from our build environment); operating speeds follow the operator figure where one was found, otherwise a Wikipedia infobox.
  2. Wikipedia, “Fuxing (train)”, “China Railway CR400AF” and “CR400BF” (350 km/h operating, 400 km/h design, 420 km/h record); UIC e-news, “China’s new high-speed train debuts on Beijing-Shanghai route” (July 2017); Xinhua/gov.cn (August 21, 2017) and Railway News on the restoration of 350 km/h from September 21, 2017.
  3. Wikipedia, “China Railway CR450AF”; Railway Pro, “The world’s fastest conventional train is nearing launch in China”; China Daily HK, “China’s CR450 high-speed train moves a step closer to commercial operation” (March 2026: type tests and 300,000 km of assessment complete, design to be finalized in 2026, 453 km/h test peak). No report of passenger service was found as of October 11, 2026.
  4. Wikipedia, “High-speed rail in Indonesia” and “China Railway CR400AF” (350 km/h service, 385 km/h trial, 420 km/h design); Gulf News/Reuters and NOW! Jakarta, “Whoosh: inside Indonesia’s first bullet train” (October 2023).
  5. Wikipedia, “E5 and H5 Series Shinkansen”, “Hayabusa (train)” and “Tōhoku Shinkansen” (320 km/h from March 16, 2013; H5 limits on the Hokkaido line); JR East press release archive.
  6. Wikipedia, “LGV Est” (320 km/h commercial service from June 10, 2007); Alstom, “574,8 km/h: new world rail speed record set at 13h13 on 3 April 2007” and Wikipedia, “TGV POS” (V150 record).
  7. Wikipedia, “ICE 3” (300 km/h in Germany, 320 km/h on French lines, 330 km/h certified for Cologne–Frankfurt, 368 km/h trial); Märklin product page and Railmarket on ICE 3 service on LGV Est.
  8. Wikipedia, “Al Boraq”; International Travel News, “Africa’s first high-speed train”; Hespress and Morocco World News (2025–2026) on the 320 km/h service and the Marrakech extension.
  9. Wikipedia, “KTX-Sancheon”, “KTX” and “KTX-Cheongryong” (305 km/h service maximum); Railway Technology and Alcircle (May 2024 launch; 320 km/h potential by 2028); Hyundai Rotem EMU-320 coverage, Railway News (InnoTrans 2026).
  10. Wikipedia, “Shanghai maglev train” and Structurae (300 km/h operating speed after May 2021, 431 km/h before; 501 km/h test, November 12, 2003); Wanderinchina, “Shanghai Maglev Train Guide 2026” and Andy B Travels (300 km/h all day). These are mostly travel sites; we could not reach the operator directly, and some other sites still print 431 km/h.
  11. Wikipedia, “Renfe Class 103”, “AVE” and “Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line” (300 km/h, 310 km/h in 2011–2016 per one infobox; Railway Gazette, “Madrid–Barcelona at 310 km/h with ETCS Level 2”); Seat61, “A Renfe AVE train from Madrid to Barcelona”.
  12. Wikipedia, “Frecciarossa 1000”; FS Italiane, “Frecciarossa 1000” and 2015 press releases (certified 300 km/h); Railway Technology, “Frecciarossa 1000 very high speed train” (first Milan–Rome journey April 25, 2015).
  13. Rows 8–15 not written up above: Wikipedia, “THSR 700T” and “Taiwan High Speed Rail” (300 km/h service, 315 km/h test); Wikipedia, “Haramain High Speed Railway”, MEED and Global Railway Review (300 km/h, 310 km/h test, 2018 opening); Wikipedia, “Sapsan” (250 km/h, December 2009, 290 km/h record) and UIC e-news (November 2009); Wikipedia, “High-speed rail in Turkey”, Seat61 and Railway Technology (YHT at 250 km/h on Ankara–Istanbul; 2009 opening is from general knowledge and was not separately checked); Wikipedia, “Avelia Liberty” and Railway News (NextGen Acela service from August 28, 2025; rated 257 km/h, limited to 241 km/h by track). Opening years for KTX-Sancheon (2010), AVE S-103 (2008) and the Shanghai Maglev (2004) are from the same pages or general knowledge.
  14. Wikipedia, “Chūō Shinkansen” and Nippon.com (L0 Series 603 km/h on April 21, 2015; Tokyo–Nagoya opening no earlier than about 2034–2036); Alstom (TGV record); Railway Pro (CR450 453 km/h).
  15. Video embeds were matched to their trains by title in a YouTube-restricted search; the uploader channel could not be confirmed for most of them and several are not operator videos (the Shanghai Maglev clip is a third-party ride video). KTX-Sancheon keeps the icon because the clips found did not identify that model.