What is the new high speed train in the UK?

HS2, Britain's second high-speed train line, has suffered massive delays and ballooning costs but will still run between London and the nation's second biggest city, Birmingham, from around the end of the decade.



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HS2's new British-built, bullet style trains will travel at up to 225mph on both high-speed and existing railway lines. We are building HS2 in phases. Our first phase of operation will link Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common in West London in 42 minutes.

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High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages.

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In fact, the only high speed network with a top speed similar to HS2's is in China, where trains can reach 350km per hour – still less than HS2's 360.

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Britain only has a small section connecting London with the rail tunnel to mainland Europe. In terms of speed, HS2's planned top speed of 225 miles per hour (mph) could make it Europe's fastest rail network.

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HS2 services These will become 'integrated high speed stations', where passengers can catch HS2 trains and access the high speed network to the south. With two services every hour in each direction, journey times between Liverpool and London will be over 40 minutes quicker, at just over one and a half hours.

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The maximum speed currently possible in the UK is 186mph, achieved by Eurostar trains on the HS1 line between London and the Channel Tunnel. The HS1 line is used by Eurostar services and Javelin commuter services from Kent, although the latter have a max speed of 140mph.

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HS2 will be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed line after High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel. The majority of the project is planned to be completed between 2029 and 2033.

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Japan's L0 Series Maglev is the fastest train in the world, with a speed record of 374 mph or 602 km/h. It could go the distance from New York City to Montreal in less than an hour.

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How fast are high-speed trains in Italy? High-speed trains in Italy can reach speeds of up to 400 km/h (248 mph). The fastest Italian high-speed train reaching that speed is the modern Frecciarossa 1000, which connects the main cities, including Turin, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples and Salerno.

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The main reason HS2 is so slow to build is it is a really stupid idea that should never have been approved. It has always been expensive, which has lead to delays and construction pauses that push up costs further.

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Ranking of the five fastest commercial trains in the world in 2023
  • Shanghai Transrapid Maglev Train, China: 267.8 mph (431 km/h) ...
  • CR400 Fuxing train, China: 217.4 mph (350 km/h) ...
  • ICE 3, Germany: 205 mph (330 km/h) ...
  • TGV, France: 198.8 mph (320 km/h) ...
  • Shinkansen, Japan: 198.8 mph (320 km/h)


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Journeys between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston will take just one hour and 11 minutes on HS2, 54 minutes quicker than today's fastest time by rail.

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The number of trains running on HS2 will be almost halved and services will travel more slowly in a proposed shake-up of the £72bn line as ministers scramble to save money. Whitehall officials are considering reducing the number of trains from 18 to 10 an hour, insiders said.

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How deep is HS2? It will be bored using tunnel boring machines (TBMs) launched from the western portal, near Old Oak Common Station. The tunnel will be 7.2km (4.5 miles) long, and at its deepest point, will run 50m (160ft) below ground.

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We are already committed to using zero carbon electricity to power HS2 trains, which will be some of the quietest and fastest in the world. Reliable, long-distance train travel between the North, the Midlands and the South East will be emission-free.

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When operational, HS2 will generate sound. This will be both through the movement of trains along the line and from the equipment along the route needed to operate our trains.

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HS2 blasts through sensitive wildlife sites, because the speed means the tracks need to be straight. Possible connections between HS2 and other railways, especially East West Railway, have been ignored. HS2 does not provide interconnectivity and is far from an integrated solution.

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As of August 2022, the fastest train on Earth, based on its record speed, is the Japanese L0 Series Maglev with a record speed of 603 kilometers per hour.

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