When did high-speed rail start in Europe?

France was the first country to introduce high-speed rail in Europe when the LGV Sud-Est from Paris to Lyon opened in 1981 and TGV started passenger service. Since then, France has continued to build an extensive network, with lines extending in every direction from Paris.



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The first high-speed rail system began operations in Japan in 1964, and is known as the Shinkansen, or “bullet train.” Today, Japan has a network of nine high speed rail lines serving 22 of its major cities, stretching across its three main islands, with three more lines in development.

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The first regularly scheduled ICE trains ran on 2 June 1991 from Hamburg-Altona via Hamburg Hbf – Hannover Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt Hbf – Mannheim Hbf and Stuttgart Hbf toward München Hbf on the new ICE line 6.

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1828 - Railway (horse-drawn carriage) Ceské Budejovice - Linz, first public railway in continental Europe, with length 120 km and rail gauge 1,106 mm (3 ft 7 1/2 in), section Ceské Budejovice - Kerschbaum put into operation on 30 September 1828.

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The first High Speed Rail journey in Spain departed Madrid for Seville on the 21st of April, 1992.

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Plans for the autobahn date to the 1920's. Construction of the first segment (Cologne-Bonn) began in 1929 and was dedicated by Mayor Konrad Adenauer of Cologne on August 6, 1932.

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There are limits to running trains with tradition wheels and railway track. Wind resistance, infrastructure wear and traction motors all add to the difficulties in running ever faster trains. Power consumption increases disproportionately as speed rises. Most European high speed trains have a top speed of 300 km/h.

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Trenitalia's Paris to Milan route was first introduced in December 2021, serviced by Hitachi Rail's ETR1000. This super high speed train travels at 300km/h - with the ability to go400km/h if not limited by track regulations - making it the fastest train in Europe.

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The new high-speed rail line from London will end in Birmingham after the UK government canceled plans to extend it to Manchester. In 1825, the world's first passenger train went into service in northern England.

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“Competition between state-owned train company Trenitalia and privately owned Italo on the main high-speed line has driven up quality and passenger numbers, but pushed down prices by between 20 and 25 per cent,” he explains. “It's to the benefit of everyone except domestic airlines.”

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The London Underground first opened as an underground railway in 1863 and its first electrified underground line opened in 1890, making it the world's oldest metro system.

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Two of the class are notable for setting world rail speed records: CC 7121 reaching 243 kilometres per hour (151 mph) on 21 February 1954, and CC 7107 reaching 331 kilometres per hour (206 mph) on 28/29 March 1955.

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