Top 10 Countries by High-Speed Rail Length
Countries ranked by the total route length of high-speed rail lines currently in operation, using the International Union of Railways definition of lines built or upgraded for 250 km/h and above. Lines under construction or in planning are excluded, so the figures show the networks trains actually run on today.
Interesting Facts & Summary
China alone runs more than three times as much high-speed rail as the other nine countries on this list combined — roughly 48,000 km against about 14,700 km. The timeline sharpens the contrast: Japan opened the world's first high-speed line, the Tokaido Shinkansen, back in 1964, while China's first intercity high-speed line came only in 2008. Europe shows that network size has little to do with territory: Spain is about one twentieth the area of China yet operates Europe's longest high-speed network, ahead of both France and Germany. Just outside the top ten, Morocco's 186 km Al Boraq is still the only high-speed line in Africa.
| Rank | Country | Region | HSR route length in operation (km) | Flagship line | Data vintage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | East Asia | 48000 | Beijing–Shanghai HSR (1,318 km) | 2024-12-31 (China State Railway Group) | |
Spain | Southern Europe | 3190 | Madrid–Barcelona AVE | UIC 2025 table | |
Japan | East Asia | 3081 | Tokaido Shinkansen (opened 1964) | UIC 2025 table | |
| 4 | France | Western Europe | 2734 | LGV Sud-Est, Paris–Lyon (opened 1981) | UIC 2025 table |
| 5 | Germany | Central Europe | 1571 | Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed line (ICE, 300 km/h) | UIC 2025 table |
| 6 | Türkiye | Western Asia | 1213 | Ankara–Istanbul YHT | UIC 2025 table |
| 7 | Italy | Southern Europe | 921 | Rome–Milan Frecciarossa line | UIC 2025 table |
| 8 | South Korea | East Asia | 893 | Gyeongbu HSR, Seoul–Busan (KTX) | UIC 2025 table |
| 9 | Uzbekistan | Central Asia | 600 | Tashkent–Samarkand (Afrosiyob) | UIC 2025 table |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | Western Asia | 453 | Haramain High Speed Railway (Mecca–Medina) | UIC 2025 table |
Sources
- S1 · UIC (International Union of Railways)High speed rail — UIC Passenger Department
UIC (International Union of Railways), High speed rail — UIC Passenger Department, 2025, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Accessed: 2026-05-31 - S2 · China State Railway Group中国国家铁路集团有限公司
China State Railway Group, 中国国家铁路集团有限公司, as of 2024-12-31, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Published: 2024-12-31Accessed: 2026-05-31 - Accessed: 2026-05-31
- Accessed: 2026-05-31
- S5 · Saudi Arabia RailwaysHaramain High Speed Railway operator site
Saudi Arabia Railways, Haramain High Speed Railway operator site, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Accessed: 2026-05-31 - S6 · WikipediaList of high-speed railway lines
Wikipedia, List of high-speed railway lines, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Accessed: 2026-05-31