High-Speed Trains in Europe

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We, at Omio, offer train, bus, and flight tickets with over 800 companies—in 36 different countries around the world—with mobile tickets for many European routes. Plan your next trip by high-speed train with us by using the Omio app to travel across borders to multiple destinations. Just remember to bring your passport!

High Speed Trains Worldwide: A Ranking

*Based on total score. Ranking based on operational and record speed of trains, length of track in operation, and length of track under construction.
All Rights Reserved. Please credit Omio when using the table.

To use the infographic above, make sure to credit Omio and copy this code: img src="https://cdn-goeuro.com/static_content/web/content/rest/updated_23.08.2019_10_trains_infographic_miles.png"

With a rising global conscience on climate change and an urgent need to connect rural populations to urban hubs, high-speed rail offers a promising solution to congested roads and remote labour markets.

We, at Omio, analysed the leading high-speed rail networks worldwide and identified the top 20 countries with the most advanced infrastructure. The factors considered included: trains’ operational and record speeds, miles of existing railway, and miles of high-speed tracks currently under construction.

The birth of the railway began with the onset of the 19th-century industrial revolution in Europe. British rail—notably The London Underground known as The Tube—is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 1860.

Ranking of High-Speed Trains by Omio

	Country	Train name	In operation*	Under construction*	Operating speed**	Record speed**	Score
1	China	CR400BF	19,289	4,478	217	261	100.0
2	Japan	Shinkansen	1,890	250	199	249	85.4
3	Spain	AVE	1,772	562	193	251	83.3
4	France	TGV POS	1,699	0	199	357	72.9
5	Germany	ICE	976	91	186	229	60.4
6	South Korea	KTX	551	0	190	262	58.3
7	Italy	AGV 575 / ETR 1000 / ETR 500***	557****	33****	186	245****	56.3
8	Turkey	TCDD HT65000	369	716	155	155	43.8
9	Austria	ICE	163	175	155	171	39.6
10	Saudi Arabia	Talgo 350	281	0	186	227	33.3
11	Belgium	TGV	130	0	186	229	33.3
12	Morocco	RGV-M	124	0	199	199	31.3
13	United Kingdom	Siemens e320	70	143	186	219	31.3
14	Taiwan	THSR	220	0	186	186	29.2
15	Russia	Sapsan	556	0	155	180	29.2
16	USA	Acela Express	457	119	149	165	16.7
17	Netherlands	PBA	56	0	186	199	16.7
18	Poland	ED250	139	0	124	182	14.6
19	Sweden	X2	118	0	124	188	10.4
20	Switzerland	RABe 503	89	9	155	155	0.0

*m
**mph
***In Italy the Frecciarossa 1000 has a commercial speed of 186mph (300 km/h); the maximum speed it can reach is 249mph (400 km/h) with commercial-grade trains complete with 8 cars. This was unintentionally omitted from the original research.
****In Italy the distance in miles of high-speed rail currently under construction is 231 miles as indicated by RFI—Italian Railway Network. The Frecciarossa 1000 has a commercial speed of 186mph (300 km/h); the maximum speed it can reach is 249mph (400 km/h) with the train operating with its full commercial composition of 8 cars. The current distance in miles of the high-speed railway in operation is 621 miles as indicated by RFI—Italian Railway Network (source article). This was unintentionally omitted from the original research.

International Bullet Trains

High-speed rail—first launched by the Japanese—is defined by trains operating at a speed on or above 120mph (200km/h) Japan was the first country to launch a high-speed route as early as the 1960s .

In Europe almost 20 years later, France became the first country on the continent to adopt high-speed rail. Predictably, China dominates the 2019 ranking with more miles of high-speed rail than the rest of the world combined.

On the other side of the pond, the US is considering expanding its bullet train network further. The country has 475 miles of rail tracks nationwide: its single high-speed route is Acela Express which connects Washington D.C. to Boston. It can travel up to 149 mph (240km/h).

How the Omio Ranking Works

For this study, Omio researched high-speed trains worldwide. All trains which travel at a speed on or above 120mph (200 km/h) were selected.

Record speed (mph): the fastest speed the train is able to reach. This speed is often obtained when the vehicle is empty or on a test run - it is not its usual operating speed.
Miles in operation: the distance in miles of the high-speed railway currently in operation (commercially).
Upcoming routes: the distance in miles of high-speed rail currently under construction. Source: International Union of Railways.
Max. operational speed (mph): the maximum speed the train can travel by law.

Each of the above factors accounted for 25% of the overall score for each country.
The scores were standardised to offer a final score between 0-100 (0 being the lowest rank and 100 the highest).
Data sourced from The International Union of Railways report (updated March 28, 2019).
Research compiled in June 2019 before the new high-speed line Madrid-Granada in Spain was completed.
In Italy the ETR 1000 has a commercial speed of up to 186mph (300 km/h) and has a max operating speed of 245mph (394 km/h). This was unintentionally omitted from the original research.

Most Popular Routes

From planning a multi-city European rail trip to simply wanting to travel to a destination faster, there are many popular high-speed rail routes to choose from. Omio has a wide selection of ground transport which offer high-speed railway: covering destinations in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the UK. Popular rail routes—listed in the table below—are all available with Omio; with some routes including mobile tickets on selected lines.

Route	Distance	Duration	Average price*
Trains Amsterdam – Brussels	218 km	01 h 53	55 €
Trains Paris – Brussels	300 km	01 h 22	65 €
Trains Lyon – Paris	425 km	1 h 57	45 €
Trains Paris – Rennes	308 km	1 h 33	55 €
Trains Madrid – Barcelona	659 km	2h 30	59 €
Trains Sevilla – Madrid	479 km	2 h 30	54 €
Trains Rome - Milan	580 km	02 h 55	43 €
Trains Milan - Naples	773 km	04 h 11	53 €
Trains Frankfurt – Berlin	424 km	3 h 53	62 €
Trains Berlin – Munich	505 km	3 h 56	88 €
Trains Hamburg – Düsseldorf	342 km	3 h 07	36 €
Trains Barcelona – Paris	1075 km	6 h 33	69 €
Trains Lyon - Barcelona	637 km	5 h 06	82 €
Trains London - Paris	457 km	2 h 16	83 €
Trains London - Amsterdam	357 km	3 h 44	68 €