Longest High-Speed Rail Lines in the World

Route Rankings

The longest high-speed rail corridors represent enormous infrastructure investments, connecting major cities with trains running at 250 km/h or faster. China dominates this list with its rapid HSR expansion since 2008.

#	Name	Value	Description
1	Beijing–Guangzhou HSR	2,298 km	The world's longest HSR line, connecting China's capital to Guangzhou in 8 hours at up to 350 km/h.
2	Beijing–Shanghai HSR	1,318 km	China's busiest high-speed line linking the political and economic capitals in 4.5 hours at 350 km/h.
3	Beijing–Harbin HSR	1,249 km	Connects Beijing to northeast China's largest city through extreme cold conditions, designed for -40°C winters.
4	Shanghai–Kunming HSR	2,252 km	Links Shanghai to southwest China's Kunming through challenging mountainous terrain with numerous tunnels and bridges.
5	Lanzhou–Urumqi HSR	1,776 km	The longest single-segment HSR line, crossing the Gobi Desert to connect northwest China's major cities.
6	Madrid–Barcelona AVE	621 km	Spain's flagship AVE line connecting its two largest cities in 2.5 hours, one of Europe's most successful HSR routes.
7	Paris–Marseille LGV	750 km	France's original TGV corridor expanded to reach the Mediterranean, carrying over 40 million passengers annually.
8	Tokaido Shinkansen	515 km	The world's first high-speed line (1964), still the busiest, connecting Tokyo and Osaka with departures every 3 minutes at peak.
9	Ankara–Istanbul YHT	533 km	Turkey's flagship high-speed line connecting the capital to Istanbul via a new route through the mountains.
10	Rome–Milan Direttissima	575 km	Italy's core high-speed corridor with Frecciarossa trains reaching 300 km/h between the country's largest cities.

Methodology

Ranked by total route length in kilometers of dedicated high-speed track (designed for speeds of 250 km/h or above) for a single continuous line.

Quick Facts

Category	Route Rankings
Entries	10
Unit	km

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Longest High-Speed Rail Lines in the World

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Methodology

Quick Facts