Land speed record for rail vehicles

Determination of the fastest rail vehicle in the world varies depending on the definition of "rail".

The world record for manned passenger trains is held by the L0 Series, having achieved 603 km/h (375 mph) on a 42.8 km magnetic-levitation track in April 2015.

The world record for conventional wheeled manned passenger trains is held by France's specially tuned TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse). Reduced to three cars with higher voltage, larger wheels and higher-tension pantograph wires, it broke the world record in April 2007, reaching 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on a 140 km section of track.

The fastest manned rail vehicle was a manned rocket sled, which carried USAF Colonel John Stapp at 1,017 km/h (632 mph).

Unmanned rocket sleds that ride on rails have reached over 10,400 km/h (6,460 mph), equivalent to Mach 8.5.

World speed records

Legend :

• Arr (Arrangement) : Disposition and number of elements forming the train.

Loc (One locomotive pulling one or more cars)

Multi (Multi Motorized Elements)

Single (Single rail vehicle).

• Power: DC, DC 3rd rail, AC, Single phase, Triphase, Diesel-elec., Gas, Steam, Diesel-hydraulic, Propeller, Rocket, Jet.
• State: "Proto." (Prototype), "Unmod." (Unmodified from vehicles in service), "Unkn." (Unknown), "Tuned"

All passenger trains

The following is a complete list of absolute world speed records for all trains designed to carry passengers, regardless of gauge, propulsion or type of rail,

Conventional wheeled

The following is a list of verified absolute world speed records for conventional wheeled rail vehicles.

Electric

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with electric traction motors and powered by electricity transferred to the train.

Fuel-electric

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to generate electricity for traction motors such as diesel-electric locomotive, diesel electric multiple unit and gas turbine-electric locomotive trains.

Fuel-mechanic

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to mechanical energy to drive vehicle's wheels such as diesel-hydraulic trains and gas turbine locomotive trains that use mechanical transmission to power the drive wheels.

Steam

The following is a list of speed records for steam locomotives.

The following is a list of speed records for rail vehicles that use air propulsion to move rail vehicles while the wheels are rolling along the track.

Using an air cushion and a Monorail, the Aérotrain set on 5 March 1974 a mean speed of 417.6 km/h (259.5 mph) and a peak speed of 430.4 km/h (267.4 mph).

Conventional wheeled â€" Narrow gauge

Maglev trains

Rocket sleds

World fastest point-to-point average speeds in commercial operations

The following are the lists of world record average operating speeds between two stations. The average speeds are measured by the total time and the distance between the two stations.

Styles : [Currently active] - [Old service]

All Trains Commercially Operated

See also

• Land speed record
• List of vehicle speed records
• List of high-speed trains
• High-speed rail
• Schienenzeppelin, experimental car, driven by Propeller, speed record for rail vehicles on 21 June 1931, 230.2 km/h (143.0 mph) on the Berlinâ€"Hamburg Railway

References

External links

• TGV 2007 record
• TGV 2007 record - SNCF Press release, SNCF Press release 2
• Alstom V 150, Alstom Press release
• Reuters TGV record, Reuters TGV record video
• Railway Speed Records
• Fastest steam locomotive
• RDECOM magazine 'Super Roadrunner' breaks land speed record
• 846 TS HYPERSONIC UPGRADE PROGRAM (contains World Speed Record video)
• World Speed Survey 1997
• (in French) Retrouvez sur cette page les chiffres clés des records sur rail dans le monde
• Railway developments worldwide
• World Speed Survey 2007 Railway Gazette International September 2007