How fast does the fastest train go in the world my 12 year old would like to know.
From, Peter Smith
madden124@hotmail.com
I belive the French have the fastest train (TVG) at the moment. It has hit 300 mph in tests and regularly runs at 200+. Japan also has the Bullet train which also runs around 200 mph. The U.S. North East Corridor (AMTRACK) runs around 120+ mph. I am not sure of the exact speeds but these should be close. I hope this helps.
The fastest fixed guideway vehicle is the Japanese experimental magnetic levitation (maglev) train, which runs on a 19 mile test track. It regularly runs at over 500 KM per hour or in excess of 300 MPH. It is however, only for testing and carries no passengers.
the TGV is the fastest regular service train @300mph. This can be barely outrun by a car, the NHRA Top Fuel Dragsters, which can be unreable (the engine must be replaced every 2 runs or 1/2 miles), but when they run, they can hit 320mph in 4.0 seconds!
A small correction–the top speed of TGVs in regular service on the most of the line at 300 kilometers per hours, which is 186 miles per hour.
The speed record for a TGV is at 515.3 km/h (which is around 320 miles/hour).
See:
http://www.trainweb.org/tgvpages
for an indepth coverage (including lots of maps, diagrams, pictures and some full-speed videos as well).
I’m also in the process of putting up videos of Amtrak NEC and various TGV videos at:
http://members.home.net/dan.ross/trains
When you say ‘French TGV’s’ you should remember that all TGV type trains such as eurostar and thalys trains also travel at this speed.
When the new ‘TGV est’ line is built from Paris towards the east of France, the trains will run at 335 km/h which is around 220 mph.