Has a bullet train ever crashed?

There are three types of high-speed trains in China: G, D, and C trains. D trains are the second-fastest and are mostly seen on popular rail routes that connect major cities. In 2011, a high-speed bullet train crashed near the south-eastern city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, killing 40 people.



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A halted train isn't immune to derailments, however. To guard against derailments, JR East has installed L-shaped metal parts on its train cars as a countermeasure. The parts are designed to hook the cars on the rails, thus preventing them from colliding with side walls.

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A halted train isn't immune to derailments, however. To guard against derailments, JR East has installed L-shaped metal parts on its train cars as a countermeasure. The parts are designed to hook the cars on the rails, thus preventing them from colliding with side walls.

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Shinkansen is the safest form of transport In the 57 years since the launch of the world's first bullet train, Japan has had zero cases of death caused by shinkansen derailment or collision.

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Train derailments are quite common in the U.S. The Department of Transportations' Federal Railroad Administration has reported an average of 1,475 train derailments per year between 2005-2021. Despite the relatively high number of derailments, they rarely lead to disaster.

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They aren't usually major disasters.

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1650. England – Whickham, County Durham. Two boys die when they are run over by a wagon on a wooden coal train way. While such tramway accidents are not generally listed as rail accidents (note the lack of accidents listed for the next 163 years) this is sometimes cited as the earliest-known railway accident.

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Japan: L0 Series Maglev (374 mph) Although not yet in regular service, this Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.

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The shinkansen train uses superconducting maglev (short for magnetic levitation) to achieve these incredible speeds. As the train leaves the station, it's rolling on wheels. But as it speeds up, the wheels retract, and the power of magnets allows the vehicle to hover four inches above the ground.

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Aeroplane, easily. The fastest train in actual service is the Shanghai Maglev with a top speed of 430 km/h. Most other “bullet trains” only do 250 km/h. Jet airliners travel at over 800 km/h.

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