Earlier this week, the Chinese high speed rail operator pushed one of its newest pieces of rolling stock to 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) during a test run on the new Beijing – Shanghai route.
Train buffs will probably point out that the French SNCF once took their TGV to 357 miles per hour – but they could only achieve that with a highly modified train on a track with more modifications. The Chinese train is 100% stock – and is exactly the same as the one they’ll use on the new route when it opens in 2012.
While the U.S. keeps talking about high-speed rail, the Chinese built or upgraded a whopping 13,000 miles of track, with some brand new routes completed in just a couple of years.
A (Chinese spoken) video is after the jump, but speed is speed, no matter what language it is narrated in.
[Photo: AFP/Getty]