High Speed Trains

Introduction

A High Speed Train is here defined as one which is designed to operate regularly at speeds over 200 km/h. The first country to do this was Japan with their Shinkansen (so-called "Bullet Train") in 1964. The British and French followed in the 1970s and the Germans in the 1980s. Much has already been written on High Speed Trains so this page offers a series of links to sites which include data, articles and pictures of High Speed Trains.

However, I have written papers and articles on the much debated question of railway capacity and one of these includes the question of the capacity of a high speed railway.

Links to High Speed Train Web Sites

I have not written about High Speed Trains here since a number of others have already done some excellent work.  The following list provides links to sites with descriptions of and data on High Speed Trains.  As more technical stuff becomes available, we will add it and any new links.

The AVE pages - the Spanish version of the TGV by Julio Castillo Jr in English or Spanish on the European Railway Server.

The ICE/ICT pages - write-ups and descriptions of German high speed trains and their development by Tobias Köhler. On the European Railway Server.

The TGVWeb - the French High Speed System on the European Railway Server in French and English by Clem Tillier and Yann Nottara. Another good site with some technical data too.

The XPT Train - a site on the Australian version of the UK High Speed Train.

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