Where Data Tells the Story
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Which country runs the fastest train - not on paper, but door to door?
This ranks 101 countries by their fastest scheduled service's realized average speed: route length divided by the fastest timetabled end-to-end time. Faded bars show the marketing top speed each service almost never sustains.
China's Beijing-Shanghai Jinghu HSR leads at 307 km/h average over 1,318 km - 88% of its 350 km/h top speed. France (260), Spain (248), Japan (235) and Taiwan (220) follow. The median country's fastest train averages just 90 km/h.
The US Acela hits 257 km/h on paper but averages 110 km/h between Boston and Washington - rank #34, behind Morocco, Indonesia and Uzbekistan.
Dagger marks countries whose fastest service is an international train (Eurostar for the UK and Belgium, TGV for Luxembourg).
Data: TrainRouter world railway atlas - 852 routes, open data (CC BY 4.0). Full interactive ranking and methodology: trainrouter.com/fastest-trains