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Speed records in rail transport

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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

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An L0 Series trainset, holding the non-conventional train world speed record of 603 km/h (375 mph)
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TGV 4402 (operation V150) reaching 574.8 km/h (357 mph)

The world record for a conventional wheeled passenger train is held by a modified French TGV high-speed (with standard equipment) code named V150, set in 2007 when it reached 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on a 140 km (87 mi) section of LGV Est line, part of the Trans-European high-speed rail network.[1] Japan's experimental maglev train L0 Series achieved 603 km/h (375 mph) on a 42.8 km (26.6 mi) magnetic levitation track in 2015.[2]

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 431 km/h (268 mph) and CR400 Fuxing Hao at 350 km/h (220 mph). They are followed by France's TGV Duplex, Japan's E5 Series Shinkansen and the German ICE 3 (when operating in France[3]) which all have maximum operating speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph) for commercial services.[4]

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Past world speed records

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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)
Power
DC, DC 3rd rail, AC, Single phase, Triphase, Diesel-elec., Gas, Steam, Diesel-hydraulic, Propeller, 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.

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Conventional wheeled

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

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Electric

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

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Fuel-electric

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to generate electricity for traction motors such as diesel-electric locomotive, diesel electric multiple unit and gas turbine-electric locomotive trains.

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

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Steam

The following is a list of speed records for steam locomotives.

Note: All records with a faster speed than 202.6 km/h (126 mph) (the record set by Mallard) are claimed and have not been officially verified (compare rival claims section).

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Note:

  1. The speed was measured and recorded using a mechanical device. The record was available for public inspection.
  2. This was recorded by Charles Rous-Marten, a highly experienced railway journalist who subsequently published his notebook. But since the times were recorded using a stopwatch they must remain unauthenticated. His stated figure of 102.3 mph comes from a single quarter-mile taking 8.8 seconds on a stopwatch with a 0.2 second minimum interval; the next step, 9.0 seconds, would equate to 100 mph.

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.

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Using an air cushion and a monorail, the Aérotrain set on 5 March 1974 a mean speed of 417.6 km/h (259.5 mph) and a peak speed of 430.4 km/h (267.4 mph).

Conventional wheeled – Narrow gauge

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The European speed record on meter gauge was achieved in the night from 8th to 9th July 2022. A Rhaetian Railway class ABe 4/16 train made by Stadler Rail reached 163 kph during testing in the Vereina tunnel.[90]

Maglev trains

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

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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

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See also

References

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