China's New Bullet Train Will Be One Of The Fastest In The World

Since the first Shinkansen ran in 1964 at the dawn of the Tokyo Olympics, bullet trains have revolutionized land travel and signaled economic and technological progress. While Japan was the first country to develop a national network of blazing bullet trains, over the past two decades, China has caught up — building the world's largest network of high-speed rail lines and some of the fastest trains in the world.

In 2021, the China State Railway Group began developing the CR450 train, one of the fastest passenger trains in the world. The CR450 is slated to carry passengers at 249 mph (400 km per hour), roughly 31 miles per hour faster than China's fastest currently operating high-speed rail trains. It's also more aerodynamic than previous models, constructed of lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum, runs on a water-cooled permanent magnet traction system, and has less overall drag. These technological improvements allow the train to accelerate faster and reach a higher top speed, cutting over an hour of travel time between Beijing and Shanghai (from around four-and-a-half to just over three hours). 

The CR450's interior will feature four types of seats, including long-haul business class-style seating, along with large luggage storage areas. Moreover, the cabins feature sound insulation for a quieter and more comfortable journey along the way. While a service start date hasn't been confirmed, the CR450 has been tested on a long-distance route between Shanghai, Chongqing, and Chengdu. Tickets on China's fastest G train running between Shanghai and Chengdu start at $142. In case your Chinese geography is a bit rusty, here is a detailed travel map of China.

For many travelers, a trip to China or Japan can't be complete without crossing off the bucket list experience of zooming past mountains and through small cities. However, if you can't make it to these countries, you'll be glad to hear that high speed trains have popped up worldwide across Western Europe, South Korea, Morocco, and even in Serbia and Indonesia, both of which use trains developed by China. Soon, you'll even be able to zip on a bullet train between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

While travel guru Rick Steves has his own recommendations for train travel across Europe, high-speed trains are another great way to hop between European capital cities without trekking to the airport. France's newest TGV trains, for example, reach 200 miles per hour (320 kph) and fly across the country and throughout much of Western Europe. Later this year, a new joint high-speed rail service by Deutsche Bahn and SNCF will run between Paris and Munich, cutting nearly three hours of travel time — from roughly eight hours to less than five — between the cities.

In case you're curious, the world speed record has been held by France's TGV since 2007, which hit 357.2 miles per hour (574.8 kph). Currently, the fastest passenger train in the world is the Shanghai maglev, running from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Shanghai and clocking in at 286 miles per hour (460 kph). And in the next decade, Japan plans to roll out its own maglev L0 Shinkansen, which will reach 314 miles per hour (505 kph). For train buffs or super commuters, that means you'll be able to get from Tokyo to Nagoya in under 40 minutes — faster than one loop around the Yamanote line, ringing Japan's capital.