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)
• Cisalpino (Germany, Switzerland, Italy)
• EC - Cisalpino (Switzerland, Italy)
• Euromed (Spain)
• Eurostar (France, Belgium, Great Britain)
• Eurostar Italia (Italy)
• ICE (Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands)
• Railjet (Austria, Hungary, Germany)
• TGV (France, Switzerland, Belgium)
• Thalys (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany)
• X2000 (Sweden)

Development of high-speed rail

High-speed rail can move passengers at speeds far faster 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 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.