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what is the fastest train in the world right now?

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Old May 6, 2006, 8:41 pm
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what is the fastest train in the world right now?

what is the fastest train in the world right now?

regularly scheduled passenger trains running
on real wheels, not mag-lev.

Thanks!
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Old May 6, 2006, 8:56 pm
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what is wrong with mag lev?
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Old May 6, 2006, 9:01 pm
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I believe it's the 2nd generation TGV trainset, which is used for Eurostar service, Thalys, and in Spain as well as all domestic French service other than Sud-Est. Operating max speed of 300 kph (186 mph). The newest German ICE trains I believe also might operate at a max operational speed of 300 kph.
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Old May 6, 2006, 9:13 pm
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I believe all three major high-speed rail technology: TGV (including Thalys, AVE, KTX), ICE and Shinkansen are all operating at up to 300km/h right now. Some of the trains like ICE3 and certain TGV sets are designed to run at 320 or 330, but I am not aware actual revenue route operating at over 300km/h.
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Old May 6, 2006, 9:16 pm
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Yahoo Knows All

From here

Dear Yahoo!:
What is the fastest train in the world?
Curious George
Shizuoka, Japan

Dear George:
A quick visit to Yahoo!'s High Speed Rail category revealed some interesting train facts. By browsing around the web sites listed here, we learned that the French and Japanese train makers have been duking it out for years; they measure their records by the average train speed from one station to the next.
The French held the world record for many years with their TGV lines, which radiate from Paris. The Nord-Europe line, one of the speediest, connects the City of Light to Lille, in France, then on to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, or across the Channel to the UK through the Chunnel. These fast trains maintain an average speed of 157 miles per hour.

The Japanese Shinkansen line, however, really moves. With a top speed of 186 miles per hour, the Shinkansen Bullet Train averages 162 miles an hour between Hiroshima and Kokura stations. The Autobahn? Don't make us laugh.

Not to be outdone, the French are working on a new TGV line that will top the mythic 200 miles-per-hour barrier. Then you'll be able to commute to downtown Paris from your villa in Provence! Meantime, we turned up some detailed world speed records for different types of trains and a description of rail travel at 310 miles per hour using "Maglev" technology.
The World Speed Records link shows the TGV as the "Fastest conventional train" at 515.3km/h, however the "Fastest Rail Vehicle" was "10,300 km/h (Mach 8.6) USA, Holloman Air Force Base High Speed Test Track, unmanned rocket sled, 30 April 2003. ". THAT is fast
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Old May 6, 2006, 11:50 pm
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I don't think there are any shinkansen regularly operating at 300km/hr.
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Old May 6, 2006, 11:59 pm
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Does anybody know when the TGV line between Paris and Frankfurt will be completed?
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Old May 7, 2006, 12:34 am
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Originally Posted by RichardInSF
I don't think there are any shinkansen regularly operating at 300km/hr.
From what I understand, the 500 Series trains used on Nozomi runs on the Sanyo Shinkansen line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata do run at up to 300km/h.
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Old May 7, 2006, 1:49 am
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Originally Posted by francophile
Does anybody know when the TGV line between Paris and Frankfurt will be completed?
The only thing I found is this PDF, unfortunately in german and french only and from 2004.
According to it a part of it is supposed to be done next year (2007) and work is supposed to commence on the other half in 2010,so I wouldn't expect it to be done before maybe 2015...

David
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Old May 7, 2006, 2:03 am
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Shinkansen

Originally Posted by francophile
Does anybody know when the TGV line between Paris and Frankfurt will be completed?
The Shinkansen was already runnin at 270KM/H 10 years ago, as than there were speed indicators in the trains, and i saw it my self.

and the new trains are runnin with speed with up to 327Km/H .

dp
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Old May 7, 2006, 2:29 am
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Originally Posted by rkkwan
From what I understand, the 500 Series trains used on Nozomi runs on the Sanyo Shinkansen line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata do run at up to 300km/h.
Correct. I rode that one 4 years ago, and the new trainsets can now do 320-330 in that same stretch, although I'm not sure that is been included in the schedule yet.
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Old May 7, 2006, 8:49 am
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So, I guess we've found the answer!
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Old May 8, 2006, 10:59 pm
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Originally Posted by Pickles
Correct. I rode that one 4 years ago, and the new trainsets can now do 320-330 in that same stretch, although I'm not sure that is been included in the schedule yet.
The fastest operational trains in Japan are the 500 series, of which only 16 sets exist. I don't think they go above 300kph on the Sanyo line (Shin-Osaka to Hakata) or 270kph on the Tokaido line (Shin-Osaka to Tokyo).

Supposedly wind/tunnel noise is a big problem at higher speeds. Also, at these speeds, an additional 10% top speed isn't too helpful in reducing trip times. What would be great is better accelleration (I think this is where maglevs excel. Sorry).

http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~dajf/byunbyun/index.htm
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Old May 9, 2006, 12:37 am
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The monthly TGV magazine keeps saying 2007 for Frankfurt as well as the Paris Strasbourg run. I take the Thalys to Koln from time to time and it doesn't run that fast between Brussels and Koln.
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Old May 9, 2006, 5:59 pm
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The new line under construction in eastern France (to Strasbourg and for connections to Switzerland and southern Germany) is to be served by new TGV-R (French) and ICE-3 (German) trains. Top speed to Switzerland is to be 320 km/h and to Germany 300 km/h on both train types. 320 km/h is planned for the near future in eastern France on this route, and later 350 km/h will be the top speed.
Between Frankfurt and Cologne the German ICE-3s now run at a scheduled top speed of 300 km/h and can run up to 320 km/h to catch up on schedule delays. Some of these trains continue from Cologne into Belgium, where they compete with the French/Belgian/Dutch/German Thalys trains. Between Cologne and Aachen the top speed is 200 km/h, as this is not a new line but only an improved old line. In eastern Belgium a new line has been built for the Cologne-Brussels connection, with a top speed IIRC of 300 km/h.
The ICE-3 (not souped-up) has been tested up to 368 km/h and a souped-up TGV at a higher speed, but it did so much damage to the tracks and wires that no further tests were carried out.
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