High Speed Rail

Japan's Shinkansen network is not only the oldest high-speed network in the world, it is also the safest, with zero passenger fatalities since the launch of the very first line in 1964. Its safety and punctuality record are peerless,...

With all the controversy in the UK on whether or not to build HS2, it is interesting to draw comparisons with other countries that have yet to construct high-speed lines and see how they have fared with the planning process and the general approach to national acceptance. Writes Clive Kessell One such country is Denmark. [...]

People are now beginning to understand that the main reason for investing in the new North-South rail line is the improved capacity and connectivity it will bring to the major cities served on the core network. Writes Andrew McNaughton, Technical Director of HS2 Ltd Both the Department for Transport, in its Strategic Case for HS2, [...]

The UK government has said it may sell its stake in cross-channel rail operator Eurostar in a bid to double the amount raised from marketing corporate and financial assets. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will make the announcement...

Officials in Spain and France have confirmed that direct high-speed rail services linking Paris and Barcelona will start from December 15. The announcement follows months of speculation about the launch of the new service following the completion of a 131-kilometre...

A judge in California has blocked the state's high-speed rail authority from issuing more than $8 billion in bonds to fund phase one of the $68 billion HSR network between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The ruling by the Sacramento...

The HS2 Hybrid Bill, described as project's planning application, has been published by the Department for Transport (DfT). If the bill's passage through Parliament goes smoothly, construction of the line between London and Birmingham could begin between 2016 an 2017. The...

The High Speed Rail Preparation (paving) Act has received Royal Assent, allowing construction design work to begin on HS2. The Act, which MPs voted 350 to 34 in favour of at its third reading last month, gives HS2 the green...

The debate over High Speed Two goes right to the heart of the quandary the UK finds herself in 13 years in to the new millennium. The project is of far greater significance than stopwatch psychology or getting a seat on the 7.24 from Leighton Buzzard might imply. HS2 needs to be seen in its [...]

An advisory board has been set up to support a project to bring Japan's Superconducting Maglev technology to the USA. The Northeast Maglev (TNEM) has named a team of seven former government officials and senior industry executives who will work...