The fastest trains in the world have fundamentally changed how travellers cover long distances, turning three-hour road journeys into 40-minute bullet train rides and shrinking cross-country trips that once required overnight trains into comfortable afternoon connections. High-speed rail now spans continents, with modern bullet trains and maglev trains reaching commercial speeds that rival domestic flights while connecting city centres directly, without the overhead of airports at either end. Whether you are tracking engineering records or planning a trip built around rail travel, this guide ranks the 10 fastest high-speed trains currently in service or preparing to enter commercial operation.

From China's magnetic levitation network to Japan's legendary Shinkansen and Europe's iconic rail corridors, high-speed rail offers some of the most efficient, scenic, and memorable journeys available to travellers today. Each entry below includes verified top speeds sourced from current rail data, route details, and context to help you plan your own high-speed rail experience.

Speed in high-speed rail is measured in three distinct ways: the test-track record, the maximum operational speed, and the average commercial speed across a route. The test record represents the absolute engineering ceiling — the fastest a train has moved under controlled conditions on a dedicated test line. Japan's L0 Series maglev holds the all-time record for any manned rail vehicle at 603 km/h, set on the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line in 2015.

Commercial operating speeds are always lower than test records, reflecting passenger comfort standards, station stops, and the physical constraints of the route. For the rankings below, each train is listed by its maximum commercial operating speed — the fastest pace a paying passenger will experience on a regular scheduled service. Understanding this distinction matters, because a train with a 574.8 km/h test record and a 320 km/h commercial speed still delivers a vastly different journey from one travelling at 300 km/h on a conventional corridor.

Japan offers travellers the rare chance to experience both dimensions of high-speed rail: the world-class Shinkansen bullet train network in daily service and, approaching soon, the L0 Series maglev as the fastest commercial train ever built. Tokyo is the gateway to all of this. Find and compare hotels in Tokyo across hundreds of properties and all price points on Traveloka.

The Shanghai Maglev is the fastest train in the world available to passengers today, reaching a maximum commercial speed of 431 km/h on its 30-kilometre route between Pudong International Airport and Longyang Road station. The train uses magnetic levitation technology to suspend the carriages above the guideway and eliminate friction entirely, which is what allows it to achieve speeds impossible on conventional wheel-on-rail systems. Opened in 2004, it remains the only high-speed maglev train in regular commercial passenger service anywhere in the world.

The journey between Pudong Airport and Longyang Road takes just seven minutes and 20 seconds, making it one of the fastest airport-to-city connections on the planet. For visitors arriving in Shanghai, the Maglev is an experience in itself: the acceleration is smooth yet powerful, and the countryside blurs past at a rate that makes the speedometer display on the carriage ceiling genuinely impressive. Tickets are priced accessibly, putting this extraordinary piece of engineering within reach of any traveller passing through the city.

The CR400 Fuxing is China's flagship high-speed train and the backbone of the world's largest high-speed rail network, which spans more than 40,000 kilometres of dedicated track. It operates at a commercial speed of 350 km/h on key routes including the Beijing-Shanghai corridor, covering the 1,318-kilometre distance in approximately 4.5 hours. The name Fuxing translates from Mandarin as "rejuvenation," and the train has become a symbol of China's infrastructure ambition since its launch in 2017.

China's network connects hundreds of cities and makes the CR400 one of the most accessible fast trains in the world for any traveller spending time in the country. The trains are spacious, punctual, and equipped with onboard dining and comfortable seating across multiple service classes. An upgraded variant, the CR450, completed pre-service trials at 453 km/h in late 2025 and is expected to set new commercial speed benchmarks when it enters full revenue service, pushing China's high-speed rail lead even further.

Japan's L0 Series Superconducting Maglev holds the absolute world speed record for any manned rail vehicle, reaching 603 km/h during a test run on the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line in April 2015. The train uses superconducting electromagnetic technology developed by Central Japan Railway Company, levitating the vehicle approximately 100 millimetres above the guideway at speed and eliminating virtually all friction. When its planned Chuo Shinkansen corridor opens — currently targeted around 2027 for the Tokyo-Nagoya section — it will reduce the journey that takes roughly 90 minutes on the current Shinkansen to under 40 minutes, covering 286 kilometres largely through underground tunnels.

The L0 Series represents the most significant advance in high-speed rail engineering since the original Shinkansen launched in 1964 and is widely anticipated as the train that will redefine what a fast train in commercial service means. For rail enthusiasts, transportation researchers, and travellers simply curious about the future of getting from place to place, the Chuo Shinkansen opening will be one of the most significant transport events of the coming years. Japan already has the most admired rail culture in the world; the L0 Series will cement that position for decades.

Japan's Shinkansen is the world's most iconic bullet train, operating at a maximum commercial speed of 320 km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori. The E5 and H5 Series trains, distinguished by their long aerodynamic nose cone, represent the pinnacle of Japanese rail manufacturing and part of the reason Japan consistently draws rail travellers from across Southeast Asia and beyond. Since the first Shinkansen line opened in 1964, the network has carried billions of passengers with zero fatalities attributed to train accidents — a safety record unmatched anywhere in global rail history.

The Shinkansen network extends across Japan's main island of Honshu and connects major cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Sapporo. Rides are smooth, quiet, and famously punctual, with average delays across the network running to under one minute. For many international travellers, boarding a Shinkansen in Tokyo and arriving in Osaka 2.5 hours later through the Japanese countryside remains one of the most satisfying travel experiences in all of Asia.

Japan rewards time spent beyond the trains as well. Tokyo is one of the world's great destination cities, with immersive digital art museums, observation decks overlooking the entire metropolitan sprawl, theme park experiences, and cultural landmarks spread across dozens of neighbourhoods. Book activities in Tokyo through Traveloka to secure your place at the city's most popular attractions before they sell out.

France's TGV, which stands for Train à Grande Vitesse (meaning "high-speed train" in French), operates at a maximum commercial speed of 320 km/h and holds the world wheel-on-rail speed record of 574.8 km/h, set during a controlled test run in April 2007. Launched commercially in 1981 on the Paris-Lyon route, the TGV was Europe's first high-speed rail service and transformed how the French travel, establishing the template that every subsequent European high-speed network has followed. The current Euroduplex TGV variants serve routes across France and extend into Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.

The Paris-Lyon journey by TGV takes roughly two hours, a corridor that once required over three hours and now draws significant passenger numbers away from domestic flights. France's dedicated high-speed network covers approximately 2,800 kilometres and continues to expand with new lines under development. For travellers exploring France or connecting between Western European cities, the TGV is one of the most practical and scenic ways to move between destinations without setting foot in an airport.

Spain's AVE, an abbreviation for Alta Velocidad Española (Spanish High Speed), is the largest high-speed rail network in Europe by total route length, covering over 3,400 kilometres of dedicated track. The AVE operates at a maximum commercial speed of 310 km/h and connects Madrid with Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Málaga, and cities further afield in journey times that make domestic flights largely unnecessary. The Madrid-Barcelona route, at 621 kilometres, is completed in approximately two hours and 30 minutes at full speed, down from over four hours on conventional trains.

Spain built its high-speed lines to the standard European gauge rather than the older Iberian gauge, allowing the network to integrate directly with French high-speed lines via the border crossing at Figueres. The onboard experience emphasises comfort, with wide seating, reliable Wi-Fi, and a punctuality guarantee that refunds tickets when trains arrive more than 15 minutes late. For travellers touring the Iberian Peninsula, the AVE is the most efficient way to move between Spain's major cities and a genuine rival to the fastest trains anywhere in Europe.

South Korea's KTX, the Korea Train Express, operates at a maximum commercial speed of 305 km/h and connects Seoul with Busan — a distance of 417 kilometres — in approximately two hours and 15 minutes. Launched in 2004 using technology developed in collaboration with French rail engineering, the KTX has since expanded into a wider network serving cities across the Korean Peninsula. Newer variants, the KTX-Sancheon and KTX-Eum, were developed domestically by Hyundai Rotem and feature improved aerodynamics, quieter interiors, and modernised onboard systems.

South Korea's high-speed rail corridors have consistently drawn passenger numbers away from the Seoul-Busan air route since launch, and the network now serves cities including Daejeon, Daegu, and Gyeongju, home to some of Korea's most significant historical sites. For travellers combining Japan and South Korea in a single Northeast Asian itinerary, the KTX and Shinkansen together cover most of the region's major cities in comfort and at speeds that make flying between them feel unnecessary.

Germany's ICE, the InterCity-Express, operates at a maximum commercial speed of 300 km/h and connects cities across Germany and into neighbouring Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The Frankfurt-Cologne dedicated high-speed line, opened in 2002, cut the journey between the two cities from roughly two hours to under one hour, and the wider network now covers approximately 1,600 kilometres of dedicated high-speed track supplemented by higher-speed running on upgraded conventional rail. The newest variant, the ICE 3neo, offers improved energy efficiency, smoother ride quality, and a full glass front cab that gives a striking view from the leading carriage.

The ICE fleet serves as the backbone of long-distance travel within Germany, used by business and leisure travellers alike for inter-city connections that are fast, comfortable, and consistently reliable. For travellers moving through Central Europe, the ICE provides connections between Germany's major cities and across borders without the friction of domestic air travel. Germany's dense urban network means that most significant destinations are within two to three hours of each other by high-speed rail.

Italy's Frecciarossa 1000 is the fastest wheel-on-rail train ever manufactured, with a design speed of 360 km/h and a maximum commercial operating speed of 300 km/h on Italy's high-speed rail corridors. The name Frecciarossa means "Red Arrow" in Italian, a reference to the train's distinctive red livery. Manufactured by Hitachi Rail and Bombardier Transportation, the Frecciarossa 1000 entered service in 2015 and connects Milan with Rome in approximately two hours and 55 minutes on Italy's 644-kilometre dedicated high-speed line.

The train features four classes of service — Standard, Premium, Business, and Executive — making it one of the most differentiated onboard experiences in European rail. Business and Executive cabins offer fully reclining seats, privacy screens, and restaurant-quality dining served at the seat. An international version of the Frecciarossa 1000, operating as the ETR 1000, runs cross-border services into France and Spain under the European rail open-access framework, extending the reach of this high-speed rail experience well beyond Italy.

Indonesia's WHOOSH is Southeast Asia's first high-speed rail line, connecting Jakarta and Bandung across 142 kilometres with a maximum design speed of 350 km/h and a journey time of approximately 40 minutes. Opened in October 2023, the line was built using Chinese high-speed rail technology and represents a landmark moment for infrastructure in the ASEAN region. The name WHOOSH stands for Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal — an Indonesian phrase translating as "time-saving, optimal operation, reliable system."

The Jakarta-Bandung corridor previously took around three hours by road and a similar duration on conventional rail; the new high-speed line has compressed that to under an hour, transforming Bandung into a practical day-trip destination from the capital. Stations along the route are modern, spacious, and well-connected to city centres through integrated feeder bus and rail services. WHOOSH demonstrates that high-speed rail is expanding beyond its East Asian and European strongholds into Southeast Asia, and plans for an extension eastward to Surabaya are under active discussion.

Once you have mapped out which high-speed rail routes to ride, the next step is getting there. Find and compare flights to Tokyo, Jakarta, Shanghai, Paris, Seoul, and every other destination in this guide through Traveloka.

High-speed trains offer a compelling combination of speed, comfort, and city-centre convenience that makes them the preferred choice over short-haul flights on routes under three hours. When journey times by the fastest trains fall below that threshold, rail consistently draws more passengers than the equivalent air route on the same corridor. The time saved by skipping airports at both ends of the journey often makes the train faster door-to-door, even on routes where the flight itself is only an hour.

Staying close to the main train station in cities like Tokyo, Paris, or Seoul makes a high-speed rail itinerary significantly smoother, cutting transit time on departure mornings and allowing for easy onward connections the moment you step off the train. Tokyo's Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Marunouchi districts all offer hotels within walking distance of major Shinkansen terminals, across every price point. Check Traveloka promotions before finalising your stay, particularly for multi-city trips where accommodation savings across several nights add up quickly.

For many high-speed rail journeys, the trip begins at an international airport before transferring to a train station in the city centre. Arranging an airport transfer in advance is the most reliable way to make that connection on time, particularly in cities like Tokyo where the distance from the airport to the rail terminal requires planning. Pre-booked transfers eliminate the uncertainty of finding transport at the arrivals hall and ensure you reach the station with time to collect your train ticket and board comfortably.

High-speed rail connects major cities efficiently, but some of the most rewarding destinations on any itinerary lie beyond the reach of the train network. Rural Japan, the Tuscan countryside, the mountains of Bavaria, and Indonesia's smaller islands all require ground transport beyond the station. Booking a car rental through Traveloka gives you the flexibility to extend your trip into areas that high-speed rail cannot reach, rounding out an itinerary that begins at 431 km/h and ends at whatever pace suits the destination.

Traveloka is Southeast Asia's leading travel platform, trusted by over 100 million users and available across Asia and beyond, from Indonesia to Japan, Korea, and Australia. Whether you are planning a week in Tokyo to ride the Shinkansen, a day trip on the Shanghai Maglev, or a European rail pass across TGV and AVE corridors, Traveloka brings flights, hotels, activities, car rental, travel insurance, and eSIM together in one app so your entire trip is organised in one place.

For a Japan high-speed rail itinerary, Traveloka lets you compare hundreds of hotels across Tokyo and other Shinkansen cities, book activities to fill the days between train journeys, and find the most competitive flight deals from cities across Southeast Asia. The app is top-rated on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Southeast Asia and is built to keep every element of your trip accessible on a single screen. Download the Traveloka app to start planning your high-speed rail adventure.