- published: 30 Aug 2015
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High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic. As of 2012 the maximum commercial speed was about 300 km/h (186 mph) for the majority of installed systems (Japan, China, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, UK), 310 km/h (193 mph) in Spain and 320 km/h (199 mph) in France. The Shanghai Maglev Train reaches 431 km/h (268 mph).
High speed trains travel at their maximum speed on specific tracks, generally using standard gauge (except Russia and Finland), with avoiding at-grade crossings, and few curves.
The world speed record for conventional high-speed rail is held by the V150, a specially configured and heavily-modified version of Alstom's TGV which clocked 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on a test run. The world speed record for Maglev is held by the Japanese experimental MLX01: 581 km/h (361 mph).
While high-speed rail is usually designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. For instance, the French mail service La Poste owns a few special TGV trains for carrying postal freight.
High Speed or high-speed may refer to items in the following categories: