China’s 450km/h bullet train is the fastest ever built
Dart between Beijing and Shanghai in under four hours, with airline-like business class comfort.
By Staff Writers, March 3 2026
Think Japan and you’ll almost certainly think of its streamlined Shinkansen bullet trains.
But China is now the undisputed high-speed rail champion, with not only the world’s largest network – spanning over 50,000km, and connecting 97% of cities with over 500,000 residents – but the world’s fastest trains.
And the speed limit is about to be broken once again, with testing underway of a new high-speed CR450 train which can run up to 450km/h.
China's new CR450 bullet train.
This is the successor to the CR400, which currently runs at 350km/h on China’s busiest high-speed lines.
This includes the 1,300km stretch between Beijing and Shanghai, which the CR400 can do in little more than four hours.
Engineer and technicians test China's new CR450 bullet train.
China Railway says the CR450 would have a routine operational speed of 400km/h while keeping a safety margin up its sleeve, with a 10% lower weight and 22% reduced drag contributing to the speed boost.
The CR450 prototype is already running test laps in Beijing and on dedicated trial sections of track.
Engineer and technicians test China's new CR450 bullet train.
Passengers in the business class cabin will enjoy airline-style seating pods with a sliding privacy door.
The business class seats on China's new CR450 bullet train.
Perhaps oddly, this is superior to first class, where seats are arranged in a 2-2 layout; second class carriages have a tighter 2-3 configuration.
China Railway says improved sound insulation along the walls and windows has reduced noise inside the carraiges by about 2dB.
The end goal is to convince travellers to choose fast electric trains over short-haul flights or long highway drives.
29 Aug 2017
Total posts 30
they need to get the chinese here to build our high speed rail network....it would probably be HALF the estimated cost...
04 Mar 2026
Total posts 3
Absolutely! China can provide the full package quickly, efficiently & for way less cost. Unfortunately politics wont allow it..at our cost.
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 42
While I don't disagree, I'm not sure the Chinese style of high speed rail (built as elevated railway) would go down so well here in Oz. And that is why they can do it quickly and efficiently in comparison to our dreadfully slow approaches to anything.
11 Sep 2015
Total posts 274
I wouldn't mind an elevated high-speed railway here, obviously only practical on long flat stretches so there'd still be a LOT of tunnelling to be done. As long as the thing is built!!!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Jan 2018
Total posts 869
Most of the Shinkansen is elevated, it's far safer than ground rail.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 May 2018
Total posts 31
maglev topped out at 431 kph so not alot of difference apart from the dist
04 Mar 2026
Total posts 3
This train runs on the existing HSR tracks, Maglev requires special rail. The China HSR system is excellent, I travelled on it last week & on the Maglev 4 times over the last few years... Both make the rest of the world's railways look to be way outdated.
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 42
I think the new Japanese Maglev hit just over 600 km/hr in testing and is expected to ultimately operate at about 500 km/hr once in service. Much higher speeds definitely achievable, but the energy required is likely to make it unviable - much like the Shanghai Maglev (at lower speeds) doesn't run nearly as fast as it could to save on energy consumption.
04 Mar 2026
Total posts 3
Last time I was in Shanghai it ran about 450kmh in the afternoon & 300kmh other times of the day.. I guess it was to do with power use or noise.
16 Feb 2017
Total posts 33
Biggest crisis hitting aviation in many years currently in the ME - yet the only news is Chinese trains, and inflight wifi !
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 42
What precisely is there to say about what is happening in the ME however. Oil prices up and huge cancellations of air services. Not much else to say to be honest, nor any ability at this point to really say how long the disruptions might be.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2583
So you can’t see any coverage of this anywhere else online?
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 617
And what are you expecting? The 'news' on this 'crisis' is being reported left right and centre, it's everywhere you look, and what more is to be said beyond what all the news outlets are already reporting?
17 Nov 2020
Total posts 6
Fly Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, even Cathay Pacific.
Cheap, short travel time to Europe via Russia and no disruption from ME crisis.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 1095
I'm trying this out in May, I'll take some photos.
Etihad - Etihad Guest
21 Jul 2019
Total posts 229
Makes me weep comparing our slowcoach approach to infrastructure compared to virtually everyone else in our region. The unspoken problem we have are special interest groups, mostly small but very vocal. Just look at at how the Gabba Olympic stadium redevelopment was shot down. All because of one rickety old wooden school that was already termite infested and a group of loudmouth inner city Green Karens.
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 42
It took a long time, but to be fair, the Victoria Park stadium option is vastly superior to the Gabba Redevelopment option, which even if the school moved, still would have faced significant site constraints.
06 Dec 2013
Total posts 11
China’s push for a 400km/h operational speed with the CR450 is impressive as a headline, but it ignores a fundamental rule of high-speed rail engineering: Just because you can reach a speed in a test doesn't mean you should operate there.
The French (TGV) and Japanese (Shinkansen) pioneered this technology decades ago and have already proven these speeds are possible. France hit 574.8km/h in 2007, and Japan’s ALFA-X test train reached 400km/h years ago. However, both nations strictly cap their commercial services at 320km/h (with Japan targeting 360km/h by 2030). This is because they maintain a massive "safety buffer" between a train’s laboratory limit and its daily service.
Japan’s approach to the Kyushu Shinkansen is the gold standard for this discipline. When the line opened, they used the N700—a train already proven for 300km/h+—but spent an entire year testing it to certify a service speed of only 260km/h.
Physics of Wear: Every 10km/h increase isn't just a number; it’s an exponential increase in track wear, energy consumption, and vibration.
Emergency Margins: In Japan, a train must be able to stop within a specific window during an earthquake. The faster you go, the more you sacrifice that life-saving braking margin.
By targeting 400km/h for daily service, China is essentially operating at the absolute edge of the physical envelope for steel-on-steel rail. While the CR450 reached 453km/h in testing, using 400km/h as a "normal" speed removes the conservative buffer that has kept the Shinkansen fatality-free for 60 years.
What the Chinese are doing is technically possible, but many engineers would argue it is reckless. It appears to be a move driven by national prestige and record-breaking rather than a genuine advancement in safe, sustainable transportation technology.
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 42
The Chinese are pretty pragmatic in their overall network management in terms of speed - there is definitely a national prestige angle to this, but suspect in service it may well be wound back a bit from 400 km/hr, outside of maybe one or two 'flying scotsman' equivalent daily services.
Cathay Pacific - The Marco Polo Club
20 Jun 2013
Total posts 65
They can do this based on the number of passengers, they have the critical mass required to make this feasible. I've spend some time in China and using their train services, they've certainly improved since the days it took 3 hours on old clapper between Shanghai and Nanjing!
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