"Italo", a new high speed train for the NTV (Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori), is seen on a platform at the Tiburtina train station in Rome April 20, 2012.REUTERS/Max Rossi
"Italo", a new high speed train for the NTV (Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori), is seen on a platform at the Tiburtina train station in Rome April 20, 2012.REUTERS/Max RossiA picture from an animation of the new train from Canada's Bombardier Inc, one of the world's leading rail equipment manufacturer, is shown in this handout photo. Bombardier Inc won an order for 59 double-deck trains worth $1.7 billion, from Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in May 2010. These trains run at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour on various European rail routes.REUTERS/Ho NewA passenger waits next to a high speed Eurostar train at Brussels Midi/Zuid railway station Sept. 20, 2007. The UK's high speed track, known as High Speed 1, arriving in London's St Pancras International station reduces the time of travel between Brussels and London to 1 hour 51 minutes.REUTERS/Yves HermanAn Allegro train travels at a railway station in Helsinki. The new high speed rail link, the Allegro train between Helsinki, Finland and St Petersburg, Russia came into service in Dec. 2010. The Allegro train cuts the travelling time between Helsinki and St Petersburg by two hours.REUTERS/Lehtikuva LehtikuvaA high-speed AVE train, which has a top speed of between 300-350 kmh (186-217 mph), is seen at the Joaquin Sorolla station after a 98-km (61-mile) test ride with passengers from Hoya de Roda to Valencia Oct. 13, 2010. The train provides a one-and-a-half hour one-way ride linking Madrid and Valencia in Spain. AVE train also links Madrid to Barcelona in less than three hours on a one-way ride.REUTERS/Heino KalisA high speed 'Javelin' train waits at a platform at Stratford International Station in Stratford, east London Sept. 3, 2009. Javelin trains connect St Pancras International Station in central London with the London 2012 Olympic stop, Stratford International in east London, and then Ebbsfleet International in Kent, southern England.REUTERS/Stephen HirdA visitor looks at the head of a CRH (China Railway High-speed) Harmony bullet train at an exhibition for the Seventh World Congress on High Speed Rail in Beijing Dec. on 7, 2010. China plans to build 13,000 km (8,078 miles) of high-speed railway by 2012, more than the rest of the world combined. Bullet trains are serving a new high-speed railway linking Shanghai and Hangzhou in Shanghai. CRH bullet trains' speeds vary from 250 to 350 kilometers per hour.ReutersThe Hayabusa shinkansen or bullet train departs from Aomori station in Aomori, northern Japan on March 5, 2011. The train was deputed in March 2011. Hayabusa can travel at speeds of up to 300 kilometer per hour and it has the longest nose of any shinkansen at 15 meters. According to the East Japan Railway Co., Hayabusa is a fast way to travel between Tokyo and various cities in the Tohoku region.REUTERS/KYODOThe first German high speed train to travel through the Channel Tunnel is seen at St Pancras station in London, Oct. 19, 2010.REUTERS/Andrew WinningA man looks at the bullet trains serving the new high-speed railway linking Shanghai and Hangzhou in Shanghai Oct. 26, 2010.REUTERS/Aly Song
Italy-based Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV) is all set to debut its high speed train - Italo - on 28 April. The service will run on the Napoli - Roma - Firenze - Bologna - Milano corridor initially; operations will be extended to Salerno, Torino and Venezia by the end of the year, as the company adds 25 high speed Italo trains to its fleet, NTV said in a statement.
The news that a private rail operator has ventured into the Italian high speed rail network has apparently set the world's high speed rail network abuzz.
China's Ministry of Science and Technology said earlier this week the country planned to extend its high speed rail network by constructing 16,000km of high-speed lines by 2020. According to the ministry's official Web site, the country also plans to develop high speed train products for export.
However, recent fatal rail accidents involving high speed trains have raised questions about the safety of fast-growing high speed rail networks around the world.
In one of the worst rail accidents ever, two high speed trains collided head-on, crashed and derailed in Wenzhou in China's Zhejiang province in July last year, killing at least 35 people. The country's 12th Five-Year Plan, for the period 2011-2015, included improvisation of technologies that will target enhanced safety of high speed railways, the ministry added.
Nevertheless, such misfortunes do not sway nations from developing their own high speed rail networks. High speed trains can cut travel time by anything from a few minutes to several hours.
In the US, President Barack Obama's administration has reportedly sought an additional $1bn for California's high speed rail project. Meanwhile, another high speed railway service - Eurostar - which operates between London, Paris and Brussels, posted a profit of 7 percent in the first quarter of 2012 over the corresponding period last year.
High speed travel has become a rather important part of our lives. We have the need for speed so well been taught that it is not uncommon to look to shave as much time of as many activities as possible, be they ever so mundane. It is in keeping with that tradition, we bring you a list of ten of the most spectacular high speed trains in the world... trains and networks that changed the face of long haul railway travel, dissolved borders and lent a new dimension to the idea of travelling by train...
