High-speed rail
Fastest rail-based transport systems
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We include updates on High Speed 2, Eurostar, TGV, Shanghai maglev train, Sapsan, Acela, High Speed 1, Wenzhou train collision, InterCity 125, Brightline West, Korea Train Express, Avelia Liberty, Intercity Express, 0 Series Shinkansen, Stadler FLIRT, Siemens ACS-64 ... and more.
| 2025 |
High Speed 1
Evolyn plans to order 12 trains from Alstom, contingent on securing project financing and regulatory approval.
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| April 2025 |
High Speed 1
Gemini Trains announced plans to operate trains across the Eurotunnel and applied for access to the Temple Mills Depot.
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| 2025 |
High Speed 1
Evolyn initially planned to start non-stop services between London and Paris
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| 2025 |
Intercity Express
Planned entry of ICE L trains into service from mid-year, with initial units undergoing testing.
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| February 2025 |
High Speed 1
HS1 Ltd. begins trading under the new name London St. Pancras Highspeed, aiming to take a more consumer-facing approach and explore options for expanding capacity at London St. Pancras International railway station.
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| 2025 | Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed railway is currently under construction, expected to have a maximum speed of 400 km/h upon completion. |
| February 9 2025 | Planned reopening of juxtaposed controls buildings at Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal stations. |
| February 4 2025 |
Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway
Thai Cabinet sanctioned the second phase of the China–Thailand Railway Cooperation Project, specifically the Korat-Nong Khai segment, with project planned to commence in 2025 and conclude in 2030.
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| January 2025 |
Acela
New Avelia Liberty trainsets planned to replace current Acela Express equipment, promising greater passenger capacity and enhanced active tilt system
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| 2024 |
Intercity Express
Network map reveals six comprehensive north-south intercity express lines connecting major German and international cities, including routes from Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Essen to destinations like Munich, Basel, and Frankfurt Airport.
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| 2024 |
Stadler KISS
Expected entry into service of Iberian gauge KISS vehicles for Renfe in Spain, featuring a combination of single-deck FLIRT end cars with either double-decker KISS intermediate cars or additional single-deck FLIRT intermediate cars.
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| 2024 | High-speed rail line extension project to Subotica is expected to be completed, which will reduce travel time between Belgrade and Subotica to approximately 70 minutes. |
| 2024 | The KTX-Cheongryong train entered KTX services, further advancing South Korea's high-speed rail technology. |
| December 2024 |
Intercity Express
Direct ICE trains began running between Berlin Hbf and Paris Est via Frankfurt Hbf, Karlsruhe Hbf, and Strasbourg-Ville.
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| December 2024 | Announcement made to extend the Taiwan High Speed Rail line from Zuoying to Kaohsiung city centre and Pingtung. |
| November 2024 |
High Speed 1
Virgin Group and Evolyn highlight Eurostar's non-agreement for Temple Mills depot access during an industry event at the Houses of Parliament, subsequently appealing to the ORR to assess available capacity.
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| September 2024 | Eurostar signed a memorandum of understanding to join SkyTeam as its first non-airline partner, establishing a significant air-rail alliance to enable integrated intermodal transport across the UK, France, and the Netherlands. |
| June 15 2024 | Juxtaposed controls buildings at Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal were closed due to major track works, impacting direct Eurostar services. |
| May 2024 | Eurostar announced plans to order up to 50 new trains, signaling a significant expansion and modernization of its fleet. |
| January 2024 |
High Speed 1
Deutsche Bahn reaffirmed its fundamental interest in transport between London and the mainland through the Eurotunnel, while noting that routes and trains were not yet equipped with end-to-end ETCS.
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| January 2024 |
Thalys
Planned completion of Thalys service rebranding under Eurostar.
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| 2023 | Cycle booking service was critically described as 'farcical'. |
| 2023 | Mobico Group, owner of National Express, was reported to be considering cross-Channel services under the name 'Evolyn'. |
| 2023 |
Acela
Acela carried over 2.9 million passengers in fiscal year, down from pre-pandemic high of 3,557,455 passengers in 2019
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| 2023 |
Acela
Acela train service was eliminated at Trenton, New Jersey station.
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| 2023 |
Intercity Express
Updated network map established, detailing three main east-west intercity routes connecting major German cities including Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, Dresden, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Munich, and other key transportation hubs.
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| December 2023 |
High Speed Rail Corporation of India Limited
The Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project is expected to be completed.
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| December 2023 |
High Speed 1
Getlink announced plans to double the market for direct high-speed trains from the UK within 10 years, with potential services to Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Zurich. The company aims to reduce time to market from 10 to 5 years through market research, tunnel regulation standardization, and collaboration with network operators.
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| December 22 2023 |
0 Series Shinkansen
The restored vehicle from set R1 was put on display at Tainan HSR station in Taiwan.
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| November 2023 |
High Speed 1
Dutch rail start-up Heuro, led by Maarten van den Biggelaar, announced plans to operate 16 daily services from Amsterdam to London and Paris, seeking €600 million in funding and planning to use Zefiro V300 trains.
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| October 2023 | Eurostar brand officially replaced Thalys, operating as one unified network with combined ticket sales system. |
| October 17 2023 | The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line commenced full commercial operations, operated by Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, a joint venture of Indonesian and Chinese state-owned enterprises. |
| September 29 2023 |
Thalys
Thalys services officially renamed and now operate under the Eurostar name (sometimes referred to as Eurostar Red).
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| September 7 2023 | The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line began trial operations with passengers. |
| June 11 2023 |
Intercity Express
Deutsche Bahn launched a new ICE service between Dortmund and Innsbruck using ICE 4 trains, replacing the previous IC 118/119 service.
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| May 2023 |
Intercity Express
Deutsche Bahn announced calling the last 17 trains from the Siemens option, bringing the total ICE 3neo order to 90 trains, with plans to have all 73 trains in service by early 2029.
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| April 2023 | An extension of the high-speed train line to Sivas was opened, further expanding Turkey's high-speed rail network. |
| 2022 | Eurostar discontinued services to Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International, Calais Frethun stations, and withdrew its Disneyland Paris and Avignon routes to focus on more profitable connections. |
| 2022 | Eurostar accumulated debts of €964 million following French bailouts and commercial loans. Passenger numbers recovered to 8 million, though still 3 million below 2019 levels. |
| 2022 | Getlink, the Channel Tunnel owner, considered purchasing trains to lease to rival operations. |
| 2022 |
Acela
Acela train service was eliminated at New London, Connecticut station.
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| 2022 |
Intercity Express
ICE 3neo (Siemens Velaro MS) trains begin service, with 23 of the planned 90 units in operation, capable of 320 km/h.
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| 2022 |
Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway
First phase between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima reported as 15% completed (behind the expected 37%), with project completion delayed from 2026 to 2027 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
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| 2022 |
Stadler KISS
ÖBB orders 62 Stadler KISS trainsets (20 four-car sets and 42 six-car sets) for regional and airport train services, with planned service between 2023 and 2026
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| 2022 | Helsinki–Saint Petersburg railway was dismantled following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. |
| 2022 | Greece launched its first high-speed train service, connecting Athens and Thessaloniki, covering 512 km in 3-4 hours with trains reaching speeds up to 250 km/h. |
| 2022 | Australia passed the High Speed Rail Authority Act, legally defining high-speed rail as railways supporting trains that can travel over 250 km/h, despite not having any railways meeting this criteria at the time. |
| December 9 2022 |
Intercity Express
Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway opened, with trains operating at 250 km/h.
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| May 2022 |
Acela
Passenger operation at higher speeds began between Trenton and New Brunswick.
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| April 2022 |
Thalys
Thalys services began to be operated by the Eurostar Group.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Thalys, Eurostar, Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway, High-speed rail, Intercity Express, High Speed Rail Corporation of India Limited, High Speed 1, Acela, 0 Series Shinkansen & Stadler KISS, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.