High-speed trains have the wind in their sails

According to the International Union of Railways (UIC), in 2020, there will be just over 56,000 km of high-speed rail lines worldwide. The UIC defines high speed as trains travelling at least 250 km/h on new lines and 200 km/h on existing lines.

Asia accounts for almost three-quarters of the existing network. But it is true that the only China accounts for 67.6% of the world's high-speed rail network. Twenty-one countries or territories can claim to have a high-speed rail network according to the UIC's 2020 statistics.

The majority are concentrated in Europe (13 countries) and Asia (7 countries including the Near and Middle East). Laos is the latest to join the club with the opening of a high-speed line in December.

There will be many more in the coming years. The UIC has identified concrete projects for the construction of networks in five new countries in Europe (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Serbia).

Visit Russiathe performance of the Sapsan high-speed train, connecting Moscow to St Petersburg or Nizhny NovgorodThese are slightly lower than the official UIC definition. While the trains can reach a top speed of 230 kph, they average 180 kph, linking the country's main cities in 3 hours 40 minutes. However, a modernisation project should enable trains to travel at speeds of up to 350 km/h, reducing the journey time between the two Russian metropolises to just over two hours. The journey between St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod will take less than 3.5 hours. Entry into service scheduled for around 2024, according to the UIC. Note that a high-speed train also links Saint Petersburg to Helsinki in 3.5 hours.

China behind numerous high-speed rail projects

In Asia, India, Indonesia and Thailand are also developing high-speed networks, generally with Chinese or Japanese expertise.

In Africa and the Middle East, theEgypt launched the construction of a railway line in partnership with Germany for the Cairo-Alexandria. The first part of the section is scheduled to open in 2023, while the entire 650 km of line is scheduled to open in 2027. Another major project is taking place in Iran airst line linking Tehran to Isfahan, a distance of 450 km. The work should enable the line to open soon, in 2022 or 2023. A second line is also under construction between Arak and Qom, totalling 1,336 km. Both projects are being carried out in conjunction with China.

Other projects in the pipeline in Brazil, Canada, between Doha (Qatar) and Manama (Bahrain) or Mexico. Not to mention development projects of existing networks in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Turkey. Two major projects are the Bordeaux-Toulouse-Dax high-speed line in France and the Berlin-Prague line via Dresden.

According to the UIC, the high-speed rail network should grow to more than 76,500 km of track by the end of the decade. Europe should see an additional 2,400 km of high-speed trains. So high-speed rail does have a future, even if, paradoxically, projects can sometimes come to fruition at a snail's pace!

(Source: UIC)

High-speed networks by country in 2020 (km)

(Source: UIC)