High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilizing trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines built to handle speeds above 250 km/h (155 mph) or upgraded lines in excess of 200 km/h (125 mph) are widely considered to be high-speed.
The Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed line in Japan, with Mount Fuji in the background. The Tokaido Shinkansen, which connects the cities of Tokyo and Osaka, was the world's first high-speed rail line.
High-speed trains operated by China Railway at Beijing Chaoyang railway station; China has the most extensive high-speed rail network in the world.
The German 1903 record holder
Károly Zipernowsky
Rail transport is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road transport. It is used for about 8% of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed.
A train in Alaska transporting crude oil in March 2006
A 16th-century minecart, an early example of unpowered rail transport
A replica of a "Little Eaton Tramway" wagon; the tracks are plateways.
A replica of Trevithick's engine at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, Wales