At 281 mph, China tests its fastest high-speed train

Japan’s high-speed bullet trains are famous for speeding across the country—but China wants to set a new world record for the fastest electric passenger rail. Prototype tests are reportedly underway on the nation’s upcoming line of CR450 trains, and according to the Ministry of Transport, they already can reach top test speeds as fast as 281 mph.

The CR450 is the latest in China’s line of Fuxing (“Rejuvenation”) electric trains, and is expected to run at around 248.5 mph, surpassing the current CR400 trains’ 217 mph operational speeds. For comparison, Japan’s Shinkansen electric trains typically max out at 186 mph, and while a modified version of France’s Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) maintains the world record for fastest wheeled train (357.2 mph), its standard version zips along at around 200 mph.

The eight-car CR450 design relies on what’s known as a water-cooled advanced permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) system that allows at least a 3 percent increase in energy conversion efficiency compared to previous models. Like all of China’s other passenger rails, the trains will receive power through the country’s network of 25kV 50Hz AC overhead catenary lines. They will also feature a storage battery array capable of providing the CR450 with a 110V DC power source. Each train houses over 4,000 sensors to monitor all the crucial moving parts, including its fire detection systems, car body, emergency braking, and pantograph—the roof-mounted device that converts electricity from catenary line to the train itself.

A video provided by CCTV offers glimpses of the new CR450 design, but no clear shots of it reaching the speeds expected. Instead, the clip mostly focuses on ongoing weight control work, which is important to ensure the train’s overall mass won’t cause any structural problems while in transit.

“While reducing the weight, we must ensure that its strength does not decrease, and we even need to increase its strength because of the higher speed,” Chen Can, an associate researcher at the China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS) Locomotive and Vehicle Research Institute, explained in the video. “It’s just like a person who wants to slim down while building strength. This involves structural changes and material innovations.”

As Interesting Engineering noted, the CR450 prototypes have so far passed static and low-speed dynamic tests for noise control, braking, and traction, with developers hoping to increase speeds over successive trial phases.

The CR450 is expected to be delivered to China Railway by the end of the year, with a second line slated for 2027 that will run the 181 mi between the cities of Chengdu and Chongqing in under 50 minutes.

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