Fastest trains in the world by record speed 2022

As of August 2022, the fastest train on Earth, based on its record speed, is the Japanese L0 Series Maglev with a record speed of 603 kilometers per hour. The L0 Series was followed closely by the CRRC Qingdao Sifang 2021 Maglev of China, with a record speed of 600 kilometers per hour, although both trains are not yet in operation. The fastest train in operation is the Japanese MLX01 Maglev, with a record speed of 581 kilometers per hour.

Japan is a highspeed pioneer

Originally built to connect distant regions with Tokyo, the Shinkansen (colloquially called “the Bullet Train” in English) is a highspeed railway network in Japan. The first Shinkansen line was inaugurated in 1964 and was considered the first modern highspeed rail in the world, with the 0 Series Shinkansen train reaching a top speed of 210 kilometers per hour. Today, the Shinkansen network has an operating length of approximately 3,000 kilometers, covering most of the Japanese territory. From 2015 to 2019, ridership of Japanese highspeed trains remained relatively consistent, but dropped significantly from 370 million to 156 million passengers in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

China takes the lead

The history of highspeed rail in China is relatively recent compared to other highspeed leaders worldwide. The first highspeed dedicated rail line in China started operations in 2008, connecting the cities of Beijing and Tianjin. Despite being considered a newcomer to the industry, China has grown exponentially in the last two decades and has managed to take the lead among countries with highspeed trains. Of the highspeed networks worldwide in 2021, China had by far the longest with 40,474 kilometers, and, in 2019, Chinese highspeed train ridership hit record numbers with nearly 2.3 billion passengers.