The top 10 fastest trains in the world, ranked

The US is still trying to join the high-speed rail club.

On Thursday, Amtrak announced a new line of faster trains to run in the Northeast Corridor, connecting cities like Boston, New York, and Washington, DC, starting on August 28.

The NextGen Acela trains will reach a top speed of 160 mph, outspeeding the current Acela fleet by 10 mph.

The Acela is already the fastest train in the US. It’s followed by the Florida Brightline, which runs between Orlando and Miami at a top speed of 125 mph.

Running on “ancient tracks,” as reported by The New York Times, even the fastest Amtrak trains still deal with outdated transit design that prevents higher speeds.

While promising developments in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Texas are currently under construction, high-speed passenger trains — often characterized as systems that run above 186 mph — do not yet exist in the US, The New York Times reported.

Here are the 10 fastest trains in the world, from countries including France and China. This ranking is based on the speed at which the trains typically run rather than their top recorded speed, which often counts test runs.

7 (tie). Eurostar e320, United Kingdom

Typical speed: 186 mph (capable of reaching 200 mph)

Type: Electric multiple unit train

Serviced route: Multiple routes, including London-Paris and London-Brussels

Years in service: Since 2015

7 (tie). ICE3, Germany

Typical speed: 186 mph (capable of reaching 205 mph)

Type: Electric multiple unit train

Serviced route: Frankfurt-Cologne

Years in service: Since 2000

7 (tie). Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000, Italy

Typical speed: 186 mph (capable of reaching 224 mph)

Type: High-speed rail

Serviced route: Multiple routes, connecting cities like Turin, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Salerno

Years in service: Since 2014

7 (tie). Shanghai Maglev, China

Typical speed: 186 mph (capable of reaching 268 mph)

Type: Magnetic levitation

Serviced route: Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Longyang Road Station in Pudong, Shanghai (18.6 miles)

Years in service: Since 2003

6. KTX, South Korea

Typical speed: 190 mph

Type: High-speed rail

Serviced route: Multiple routes, including Seoul-Busan

Years in service: Since 2004

5. AVE S-103, Spain

Typical speed: 193 mph (capable of reaching 217 mph)

Type: High-speed rail

Serviced route: Madrid-Barcelona

Years in service: Since 2007

2 (tie). Al Boraq, Morocco

Typical speed: 199 mph

Type: High-speed rail

Serviced route: Casablanca-Tangier

Years in service: Since 2018

2 (tie). TGV, France

Typical speed: 199 mph

Type: High-speed rail

Serviced route: Multiple routes, including Paris-Lyon, Paris-Marseille, and Paris-Nice

Years in service: Since 1981

2 (tie). JR East E5, Japan

Typical speed: 199 mph (capable of reaching 217 mph)

Type: Shinkansen bullet train

Serviced route: Tokyo-Aomori

Years in service: Since 2011

1. Fuxing Hao, China

Typical speed: 217 mph

Type: Electric multiple unit train

Serviced route: Multiple routes including Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Tianjin, and Beijing-Hong Kong

Years in service: Since 2016

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