Ranked: Countries With the Most High-Speed Rail in 2025

Ranked: Countries With the Most High-Speed Rail in 2025

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High-speed rail is one of the fastest growing transportation technologies in the world, cutting journey times and boosting economic integration.

While only a handful of nations operate extensive networks today, dozens more are investing heavily to catch up.

In this graphic, we rank the countries with the most high-speed rail in 2025, differentiating between lines in operation, under construction, or in the planning stage.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization was compiled by World Population Review.

Country	Total Length (miles)	Operational (miles)	Construction (miles)	Planned (miles)
China	40,249	25,149	8,117	6,983
India	4,963	0	316	4,647
U.S.	3,772	457	170	3,145
Spain	3,467	2,275	656	536
Turkey	2,895	654	992	1,250
France	2,771	1,699	0	1,072
Japan	2,285	1,914	250	121
Egypt	2,097	0	0	2,097
Iran	1,929	0	255	1,674
Thailand	1,642	0	157	1,484
South Africa	1,485	0	0	1,485
Germany	1,248	976	91	181
Poland	1,183	139	0	1,044
Australia	1,087	0	0	1,087
Vietnam	960	0	0	960
Canada	946	0	0	946
Finland	941	696	0	245
Sweden	877	534	133	210
Italy	775	572	203	0
Russia	671	0	409	262
Czech Republic	624	0	0	624
South Korea	573	542	30	0
Latvia	541	0	0	541
Estonia	541	0	0	541
Morocco	513	116	0	398
Indonesia	442	0	88	354
UK	422	70	140	212
Austria	377	158	175	44
Brazil	318	0	0	318
Portugal	309	0	50	260
Saudi Arabia	279	279	0	0
Serbia	241	0	47	194
Norway	207	0	0	207
Mexico	130	0	0	130
Belgium	130	130	0	0
Bahrain	112	0	0	112
Switzerland	109	109	0	0
Hungary	103	0	0	103
Chile	79	0	0	79
Netherlands	56	56	0	0
Israel	53	0	0	53
Denmark	35	35	0	0

China Has the Most High-Speed Rail by a Wide Margin

China dominates high-speed rail globally, with over 25,000 miles of track in operation (representing over two-thirds of the world’s total).

Its ambitious expansion plans add 8,000 miles under construction and nearly 7,000 more planned. For comparison, the next largest network—Spain—has under 2,300 miles in service.

China’s dense cities are ideally spaced for rail, and its government treats it as a tool for economic growth and integration. It’s also a reason why China has relatively few airports compared to the U.S.

The fastest commercial line in China is the Shanghai Maglev line, which connects Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Longyang Road Station and is capable of reaching a top speed of 268 mph (431 km/h).

The train was built by a joint venture between two German firms: Siemens and ThyssenKrupp.

America’s High-speed Rail Ambitions

The U.S. has long dreamed of having high-speed rail lines to connect its major cities, but progress has been slow.

For example, California’s high-speed rail project between San Francisco and Los Angeles was approved in 2008 with big promises, but has faced soaring costs, litigation, and delays.

California has spent billions since 2008 without laying a single piece of track.
CATO Institute

On the bright side, Brightline West is a privately-owned project designed to connect Las Vegas and Southern California. Construction began in 2024, and the line is expected to be completed in time for the Los Angeles Olympics.

Looking elsewhere in America, the Texas Central Railway is another private rail project that aims to connect Dallas and Houston. The train’s design will be based on Japan’s Shinkansen (AKA bullet train), and aims to cut travel time between the two cities to 90 minutes.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Fastest Trains on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-countries-with-the-most-high-speed-rail-in-2025/