The fastest wheeled train
The fastest wheeled train running on rails is France’s TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally “high speed train”) which, under test conditions in 2007, achieved a speed of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), twice the takeoff speed of a Boeing 727 airliner. The TGV runs at a maximum revenue speed of 300–320 km/h (190–200 mph), as does Germany’s ICE (Inter-City Express) and Spain’s AVE (Alta Velocidad Española). The highest speed currently attained in scheduled revenue operation is 350 km/h (220 mph) on the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail and Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway systems in China.
In most cases, high-speed rail travel is time- and cost-competitive with air travel when distances do not exceed 500 to 600 km (310 to 370 mi), as airport check-in and boarding procedures can add at least two hours to the overall transit time.[9] Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of jet fuel consumed by an airliner during takeoff and climbout is taken into consideration. Air travel becomes more cost-competitive as the travel distance increases because the fuel accounts for less of the overall operating cost of the airliner.
Some high-speed rail systems employ tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of tilting trains are the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the Pendolino, the N700 Series Shinkansen, Amtrak’s Acela and the Spanish Talgo. Tilting is a dynamic form of superelevation, allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use the same trackage (though not simultaneously), as well as producing a more comfortable ride for passengers.
