This article provides an overview of speed records in rail transport. It is divided into absolute records for rail vehicles and fastest connections in the timetable.

Current speed records

The world record for a conventional wheeled passenger train is held by a modified French

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

high-speed (with standard equipment) code named V150, set in 2007 when it reached on a section of

LGV Est The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne (East European High Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Est, is a French high-speed rail line that connects Vaires-sur-Marne (near Paris) and Vendenheim (near Strasbourg). The line halved the tra ...

line, part of the Trans-European high-speed rail network. Japan's experimental

maglev Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation'') is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance. Compared to conventional railways, maglev trains h ...

train L0 Series achieved on a

magnetic levitation Magnetic levitation (maglev) or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is levitation (physics), suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Lorentz force, Magnetic force is used to counteract the effects of the gravitation ...

track in 2015. Under commercial traffic and practical conditions where trains carry passengers across from one station to another, the world records for top operating speeds of maglev and single-phase trains are held respectively by China's Shanghai Maglev Train with a top speed of and CR400 Fuxing Hao at . They are followed by France's TGV Duplex, Japan's E5 Series Shinkansen and the German

ICE 3 ICE 3 (standing for ''Intercity Express, Intercity-Express'') is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. It currently includes classes 403, 407 and 408 which are additionally specified as ICE 3, New ICE 3 ...

(when operating in France) which all have maximum operating speeds of for commercial services.

Past world speed records

Legend: ; Arr (Arrangement) : Disposition and number of elements forming the train. :; Loc: One locomotive pulling one or more cars. :; Multi: Multiple motorized elements on a single train. :; Single: Single rail vehicle (i.e.

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...

) ; Power: DC, DC 3rd rail, AC,

Single phase In electrical engineering, single-phase electric power (abbreviated 1φ) is the distribution of alternating current electric power using a system in which all the voltages of the supply vary in unison. Single-phase distribution is used when load ...

, Triphase, Diesel-elec.,

Gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

, Steam, Diesel-hydraulic,

Propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

, Rocket, Jet ; State :* "Proto." (Prototype) :* "Unmod." (Unmodified from vehicles in service) :* "Tuned" (Modified at some level for a better performance) :* "Unknown"

All passenger trains

The following is a partial list of absolute world speed records for all trains designed to carry passengers, regardless of gauge, propulsion or type of rail.

Conventional wheeled

The following is a list of verified absolute world speed records for conventional wheeled rail vehicles.

Electric

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with electric traction motors and powered by electricity transferred to the train.

Fuel-electric

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to generate electricity for

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, or electric multiple unit trains. Traction (engineering), Traction motors are used in electrically powe ...

s such as diesel-electric locomotive, diesel electric multiple unit and

gas turbine-electric locomotive A gas turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a gas turbine. Several types of gas turbine locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving ...

trains.

Fuel-mechanic

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to mechanical energy to drive vehicle's wheels such as

diesel-hydraulic A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

trains and gas turbine locomotive trains that use mechanical transmission to power the drive wheels.

Steam

The following is a list of speed records for

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. ''Note: All records with a faster speed than (the record set by ''

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

'') are claimed and have not been officially verified (compare rival claims section).'' Note:

Air propulsion

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles that use air propulsion to move rail vehicles while the wheels are rolling along the track. Using an air cushion and a

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

, the

Aérotrain The Aérotrain was an experimental Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle (TACV), or hovertrain, developed in France from 1965 to 1977 under the engineering leadership of Jean Bertin (1917–1975) – and intended to bring the French rail network to the ...

set on 5 March 1974 a mean speed of and a peak speed of .

Conventional wheeled – Narrow gauge

Maglev trains

World fastest point-to-point average speeds in commercial operations

The following are the lists of world record average operating speeds between two stations. The average speeds are measured by the total time and the distance between the two stations.

All commercially operated trains

References

External links

TGV 2007 record

Alstom V 150Alstom Press release

Reuters TGV recordReuters TGV record video

RDECOM magazine 'Super Roadrunner' breaks land speed record

846 TS HYPERSONIC UPGRADE PROGRAM (contains World Speed Record video)

*

* ttp://www.railway.bham.ac.uk/courses/conference_1105/plenary_1-p/1_2_hughes_text_pdf.pdf Railway developments worldwide
World Speed Survey 2007
''

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a British monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by tran ...

September 2007''
Photos of the fastest trains
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