The world's fastest train routes

China

Route: Beijing-Shanghai

Operated by China Railways, the high-speed trains (CRH1/2A/2B/2E/5) have a maximum speed of 250 km/hr (160 mph), and CRH2C/3 have a maximum speed of 350 km/h (220 mph).

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CRH was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup which was implemented on April 18, 2007.

The high-speed line reduces journey time between Beijing and Shanghai from 14 hours to five hours.

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Italy

Route: Milan-Florence

High-speed rail in Italy currently consists of two lines connecting all the country's major cities.

The network is designed for a top speed of over 300 km/hr (190 mph).

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Service is provided by Trenitalia. Several projects are underway to expand the network. New international connections to France, Austria and Slovenia will be added soon.

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Taiwan

Route: Taipei-Kaohsiung

Opened in 2007, the Taiwan High Speed Rail runs 345 km along the west coast of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from the national capital of Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), operates the $18 billion line.

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The THSR 700T train series is a variant of the 700 Series Shinkansen and was built by a consortium of Japanese rolling stock manufacturers.

The network has a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

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Germany

Route: Cologne-Frankfurt

The high-speed railway is a 177-kilometre long railway line in Germany, connecting the cities of Cologne and Frankfurt.

Its route follows the Bundesautobahn 3 for the greater part, and currently the travel time is about 62 minutes.

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It was constructed between 1995 and 2002 at a total cost of 6 billion euros according to Deutsche Bahn.

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Spain

Route: Madrid-Barcelona

The Madrid-Barcelona high-speed rail line is a 621-kilometre standard gauge railway line inaugurated on 20 February 2008.

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Designed for speeds of 350 km/hr (217 mph) and compatibility with neighbouring countries' rail systems, it connects the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, in Spain.

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Japan

Route: Tokyo-Aomori

The Tohoku Shinkansen is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line.

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It runs through the more sparsely populated Tohoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen.

The line is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

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England, France

Route: London to Paris

Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels.  All its trains cross the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel.

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The service is operated by eighteen-coach trains, which run at up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).