The history of railway communication goes back more than one hundred years. From hand-drawn trolleys, we switched to horse-drawn carriages. Technique went further and further, and now there are trains that do not travel on rails, but hover over them, reaching fantastic speed. Today in our review you will see the fastest passenger trains from around the world.
China Railway High-speed (CRH), China
Until now, the maximum speed that was achieved by the trains of the Chinese design did not exceed 250 km / h. On April 18, 2007, a similar train was launched on the Beijing-Harbin, Beijing-Guangzhou and Beijing-Shanghai routes.
The new China Railway High-speed train, which we wrote about earlier, is characterized by improved aerodynamic characteristics, better handling and smoother running, according to Chinese officials. Due to the fact that the train's locomotive is made of aluminum, its weight was reduced to 7 tons.
Eurotem, Turkey
While the bureaucrats argue whether Turkey is modern enough to be a member of the European Union, the Turks themselves are wasting no time updating everything they can. One of the stages of modernization was the construction of a new high-speed transport network. Having signed several fast trains from Spain, the Turks are planning to reduce the time spent on the road from Ankara to Istanbul to three hours. The train speed will be about 300 km / h. At the same time, Turkey has already signed an agreement with South Korea for the creation of the next generation of Turkish trains, called "Eurotemp". Their speed will already be 350 km / h.
Treno Alta Velocità Spa, Italy
High-speed rail service between the cities of Italy began in 1978, when the Direttissima train ran between Rome and Florence at a speed of 255 km / h. Today, Treno Alta Velocità Spa is working tirelessly to create a new high-speed network. In 2005, a line between Rome and Naples was launched, passenger trains on which reach a speed of 300 km / h, and a second line between Turin and Milan was soon opened. Now work is underway to create a full-fledged transport network that would connect Italy with its neighbors - Austria, France, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Eurostar, Europe
One of the main advantages of the European Union, the blurring of borders, was gladly used by the companies organizing the transportation. The line between England and the continent, which opened in September last year, will take passengers from London to Brussels in 1 hour and 43 minutes at a speed of 300 km / h. The road to Paris from the capital of England will take a little more - two hours. Almost like going to the country house. In addition, Eurozvezda passengers have one more advantage - they will arrive at the recently renovated Century St. Pancras”, a magnificent example of Victorian architecture, the restoration of which was spent $ 1.65 billion.
InterCityExpress, Germany
Although Germany did not throw much effort into developing its own high-speed trains after the TGV launched in France, which amazed everyone, after 10 years the country gave a worthy response. ICE trains currently carry passengers from Dresden to Düsseldorf and back at a speed of 330 km / h. In addition, this transport system is closely integrated with the systems of neighboring countries - Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Do not forget about the developments in Germany in the field of magnetic levitation trains. On tests, the Transrapid maglev train was able to reach a speed of 550 km / h!
Taiwan High Speed Rail, Taiwan
Taiwan may be a small island nation, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for high-speed trains. The journey from northern (by island standards, of course) Taipei to southern Kaohsiung City by THSR trains takes only a third of the time of a trip by conventional trains. Speed up to 300 km / h, 90 minutes of the road - and the island is crossed. The high-speed transport network is built on the Japanese model - it provides protection against earthquakes and other disasters. During the six months that THSR was put into operation, more than 10 million passengers managed to ride it.
KTX Rail System, South Korea
The first high-speed train in South Korea departed in 2004. He cut the travel time between Seoul and Daejeon to 49 minutes. This line was based on French TGV technology and developed the same 300 km / h. However, Korea is now close to launching their own G7 train, which will travel at 350 km / h. And in the future, the Koreans hope to launch the next generation Highspeed Electric Multiple Unit (HEMU) trains, which will reach the 400 km / h line.
Shanghai Maglev Train, China
In April, a year passed in China, the renewal of more than six thousand kilometers of railway tracks was completed so that high-speed trains could travel on them. It is now the largest high-speed transport network in the world. They also launched a magnetic levitation train that runs from Shanghai Airport to the city center in just 8 minutes at a speed of 430 km / h. In addition, the Chinese are planning to build the largest railway station in Asia - its approximate area will be 14 million square meters. feet over five floors.
Alta Velocidad Española, Spain
Along with the football giants, the charming architecture of Santiago Calatrava and the food of El Bulli, the Spaniards can be proud of one of the fastest transport networks in the world. It connects the largest cities in Spain with each other, and trains on it reach speeds of up to 350 km / h. At the moment, the Spaniards are busy digging an eight-kilometer tunnel through the Pyrenees to build a railway from Barcelona to France.
Train à Grande Vitesse, France
TGV trains, already mentioned today, make up the same pride of France as, for example, Concordes. At the time of their appearance, they were the speed record holders - in the April 2007 tests, TGV trains developed a speed of 575 km / h, and the average speed of passenger transportation in France was 320 km / h. It should be noted that high-speed trains have always been loved in France - in the distant 60-70s, Aérotrain trains appeared, which could reach a speed of 430 km / h, which at that time was just fantastic.
Shinkansen Trains, Japan
Our review, of course, is completed by trains from Japan. From whom else can we expect the triumph of technical thought, if not from them? They were pioneers in the field of high-speed transportation. The Tokaido trains began operating between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964 and lasted four hours. Today, the latest generation N700 trains make the same journey almost twice as fast - in 2 hours and 25 minutes. The Japan Railways Group estimates that over 40 years of its existence, the high-speed transport network has handled 6 billion passengers.
The Japanese also hold the world speed record for all trains. Their experimental model MLX01 maglev reached a speed of 480 km / h.
But can you call it a train? After all, magnetic levitation trains do not touch the rail..