High-speed Trains

Overview of high-speed trains

Select one of the following high speed trains for more detailed information.

• Alaris (Spain)
• Altaria (Spain)
• Alvia (Spain)
• Artesia de Jour (Italy, France)
• AVE (Spain)
• Euromed (Spain)
• Eurostar (France, Belgium, Great Britain)
• Eurostar Italia (Italy)
• ICE (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland)
• Railjet (Austria, Hungary, Germany)
• SuperCity (Czech Republic, Austria)
• TGV (France, Switzerland, Belgium)
• Thalys (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands)
• X2000 (Sweden)

Development of high-speed rail

High-speed rail moves you at speeds far higher than those possible by car! High-speed trains run up to 300 km/h (186 miles).

Ever since the introduction of the first high-speed trains in France in 1981, the European high-speed railroad network has expanded gradually. Other European countries like Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden soon followed the French example. In 2007, a consortium of European rail operators, Railteam, emerged to further boost cross-border high-speed rail travel.