High Speed Rail Development Worldwide

This fact sheet provides a global overview of high-speed rail (HSR) development, contrasting the extensive networks in Asia and Europe with the limited deployment in the United States. It details the history of HSR, the technical standards for speed, the economic and environmental benefits of rail over air and car travel, and the current status of projects in China, Japan, France, and the U.S.

• High-speed rail is generally defined as new lines with speeds exceeding 250 km/h (160 mph) and existing lines exceeding 200 km/h (120 mph).
• Japan launched the first HSR system, the Shinkansen, in 1964. It is currently the world's busiest HSR service, transporting over 420,000 passengers on a typical weekday across nine lines serving 22 major cities, with a safety record of no passenger fatalities or injuries due to accidents in over 50 years.
• China has experienced rapid HSR growth over the last 15 years, with a network expected to reach over 38,000 km by 2025 and 45,000 km in the long term. The government dedicated $300 billion to build a 25,000 km network by 2020, and the Beijing-to-Shanghai line reported a net operational profit of over $1 billion (6.6 billion yuan) in 2015.
• European HSR development was led by France, which began service in 1981. Most European lines follow French standards for signaling, voltage, and speed, except for Germany. The European Union funds many cross-border lines, including the €25 billion Turin–Lyon railway connecting France, Italy, and Slovenia.
• The United States lacks a fully high-speed train line. While California is building a system connecting San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Anaheim (expected completion 2029), other projects like the Acela Express and Brightline do not meet HSR speed minimums. Only California has allocated funding to begin construction.
• HSR is significantly more energy efficient than other transport modes, being more than four times as efficient as cars and nearly nine times more efficient than flying. In California, the HSR system is estimated to reduce vehicle miles of travel by 10 million miles daily by 2040 and reduce 93 to 171 daily flights starting in 2030.
• While maglev and hyperloop offer higher speeds—with China operating a maglev train between Shanghai and Pudong International Airport reaching 430 km/h (270 mph)—they are considered higher risk and more costly than conventional HSR, which is a mature technology.

APA

Nunno, R. (2018). High Speed Rail Development Worldwide. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-high-speed-rail-development-worldwide

Chicago

Nunno, Richard. High Speed Rail Development Worldwide. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2018. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-high-speed-rail-development-worldwide.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nunno |first1=Richard |title=High Speed Rail Development Worldwide |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=19 July 2018 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-high-speed-rail-development-worldwide |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nunno2018high, author = {Nunno, Richard}, title = {{High Speed Rail Development Worldwide}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-high-speed-rail-development-worldwide}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }