High speed trains, also known as bullet trains, are known for their speed, efficiency and environment friendly nature. The arrival of high speed trains have revolutionized the way we travel by trains. Gone are the days when it used to take days to get from place A to B by a train. Today’s high speed trains will take you to your destination in hours and in an extremely safe manner. Bullet trains are not just fast, but they are safe to ride as well. Till date, all over the world, the bullet trains have an extremely good safety record. It goes to show the soundness of the technology that goes into building a bullet train. Here we are going to give you a glimpse into some of the high speed trains that rules the track around the world.
1. California’s high-speed bullet train:
California will soon have a 800 mile long high speed railway network thanks to the work of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The high-speed rail network being built right now will connect Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego. The trains will be traveling here at speeds exceeding 220 mph and will be carrying up to 100 million passengers per year by 2030. Apart from connecting the length and breadth of the west coast of the US, it will also result in reduction of greenhouse gas emission, improve public transportation, increase connectivity, reduce congestion and create new jobs. It will also bring in speed and efficiency in the way the railway in the US performs.
2. Kawasaki efSet High-Speed Train:
The Environment Friendly Super Express Train (efSet) crosses the Japanese countryside at a speed of 217 mph. The speed, at which this particular model travels, is almost 31 mph more than its predecessors. The efSet has been built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, who claims that the train is very energy efficient. Other features that the efSet boasts of are low noise level, better comfort for the passengers, superior electrical controls and a very efficient aerodynamic body.
3. China’s New Harmony high-speed train is the world’s fastest:
China’s Harmony bullet train will operate between the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou, the capital of East China’s Zhejiang province. During the trial runs the train broke all previous speed records set on railway tracks by reaching a speed of 415km/h (220 mph). The train has succeeded in not only bringing down the emission of greenhouse gases, but has also cut down on the travel time required in traveling between these two cities.
4. World’s fastest 310mph maglev bullet train to zip through Japan:
Japan is all set to have the world’s fastest train running on its tracks pretty soon. The new train will travel at a speed of 310 miles per hour. But it is not just the speed which will be different in this new train that Japan is fielding. The new train will travel on magnetic tracks using magnetic levitation method. The speed, at which this maglev is supposed to travel, will undoubtedly break all previous speed records set by trains from different countries. The train is slated to run between the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Nagoya.
5. China claims 300 km/h speed for new Bullet train:
China Railway High Speed (CRH) have recently introduced a new train in the country’s railway arsenal which can travel at a mind boggling speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). This new CRH behemoth is made up of aluminum alloy which makes it extremely light. The design of the body of this train is very aerodynamic which gives it the required performance in terms of speed and handling capability. The train has a per capita power consumption which is lower than most other bullet trains at 12.7 kilowatts. The train in its eight carriages can carry up to 600 passengers.
6. Type N700 bullet train is Japan’s fastest yet:
The Type N700 bullet train developed by Central Japan Railway and West Japan Railway can make the journey between Tokyo to Osaka in about two hours and 25 minutes, which is almost 5 minutes faster than previous models. The N700 has a top speed of 186 mph and uses a new form of Automatic Train Control (ATC) which controls the train’s speed and stability during tight turns.
