China's CR450 bullet train clocks 453 km/h in pre-service tests

Wheeled wonder leaves European rail in the dust

China's CR450 train hit 453 km/h during pre-service trials, surpassing its CR400 predecessor's 420 km/h and outpacing Deutsche Bahn's 405 km/h test record.

Despite the impressive figure – particularly for British rail travelers eyeing autumn leaves nervously – operational speed will be 400 km/h, and 600,000 km of testing remains before passenger service begins.

State-backed mouthpiece Science and Technology Daily (STD) called the CR450 "the world's fastest" electric multiple unit (EMU).

While faster trains exist – China's maglev train recently reached a speed in testing of 650 km/h in seven seconds – the CR450's speed is remarkable for a wheeled train entering operational service. France currently holds the steel-wheel record at 574.8 km/h, set by the TGV in 2007.

According to STD, CR450 weighs 10 percent less than the CR400, which currently operates at 350 km/h, while improved brakes maintain comparable stopping distances.

These speeds dwarf European achievements. Deutsche Bahn's ICE reached 405 km/h on the Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle line this year. Britain's High Speed 1 saw a Eurostar hit 334.7 km/h.

The fastest train in the US is the NextGen Acela, operating at 257 kilometers per hour.

China and Japan, home of the famous Shinkansen bullet train, have moved beyond wheels in search of ever greater speed. Japan's L0 maglev train has reached 603 kilometers per hour in testing, and is expected to have a maximum operational speed of 505 kilometers per hour. The train runs on wheels until approximately 150 kilometers per hour, when magnetic force lifts it clear of friction-inducing tracks.

This writer has experienced UK rail speeds where trains seemed ready to leave the track – albeit for very different reasons and considerably slower.

Japan's maglev is forecast to cut Tokyo to Osaka travel time from 150 minutes (on the already speedy Tokaido Shinkansen) to around 67 minutes. ®