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Ranked: The Countries With the Most High-Speed Rail
June 14, 2026
Key Takeaways
- China operates 40,493 km of high-speed rail, more than the rest of the world combined.
- Spain leads Europe with 3,993 km, ahead of Japan and France.
- Morocco is Africa’s only country with a high-speed rail network, while the U.S. has just 735 km in operation.
Countries have pursued these networks for different reasons, from reducing domestic flight demand to improving connections between major economic hubs. The result is a striking global divide between nations that have invested heavily in high-speed rail and those that have largely stayed on the sidelines.
This graphic ranks countries by installed high-speed rail length using 2024 data from the International Union of Railways (UIC). High-speed rail generally refers to passenger lines capable of operating at speeds of at least 200 km/h (124 mph), including Japan’s famous Shinkansen bullet trains.
China: The Giant of High-Speed Rail
China has built 40,493 km of high-speed rail, giving it a network larger than all other countries combined. The scale of this lead is striking: Spain, the world’s second-ranked country, operates less than one-tenth as much high-speed rail.China’s rail expansion has been one of the largest infrastructure buildouts in modern history. Since the late 2000s, the country has rapidly connected major cities through a national network designed to reduce travel times and support economic growth. The network links major metropolitan areas including Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Wuhan.
This data table ranks countries based on their total high-speed rail length in operation as of 2024.
China’s high-speed rail network extends to all Chinese provinces as well as Hong Kong, although Macau remains disconnected as of 2026.
The Beijing-Tianjin route, which began operations in 2008, was China’s first high-speed passenger rail line.
Europe’s High-Speed Rail Champion
In Europe, no country has rolled out high-speed rail more extensively than Spain, which counted 3,993 km of network length as of 2024.The Barcelona-Madrid high-speed line, which was also introduced in 2008, has helped reduce carbon emissions as travelers have opted for rail instead of short-haul flights between the nation’s two largest cities.
Unlike China’s coast-oriented system, Spain’s high-speed rail network is concentrated around Madrid, which is located in the center of the country. This creates a drawback for travelers hoping to bypass the capital, such as those traveling between Barcelona and Valencia or Alicante and Málaga.
The Lack of High-Speed Rail in the Americas
High-speed rail remains rare outside Eurasia. Of the world’s 10 largest high-speed rail networks, eight are located in Europe or Asia, highlighting how concentrated this infrastructure remains despite decades of discussion in other regions.In Africa, the challenge has largely been one of resources. Morocco (186 km) is the only country with any high-speed rail in operation as of 2024, while other countries have prioritized more essential infrastructure projects.
In the Americas, meanwhile, high-speed rail has lagged due to transportation systems that prioritize highways and automobile travel over intercity rail. The U.S. has only 735 km of high-speed rail in operation, as long-awaited projects in California have yet to come to fruition.
Ranked: The Countries With the Most High-Speed Rail
High-speed rail is the infrastructure of the 21st century. One country has more of it than the rest of the world combined.
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