Getting up to Speed: U.S. Lags as Upscale High-Speed Trains Take Off in Europe and Asia

In a new study ranking the world’s best high-speed train networks, Asian and European networks were neck-and-neck in offering the fastest service, the lowest average price per distance traveled, and the best overall coverage of their home territory. 

The report, from Go Euro, a two-year-old search engine and app, confirms that rail travel is holding its own against fierce competition from discount airlines and upscale motorcoach lines, especially in Europe.  

But it also underscores the reasons for the pessimistic outlook for long-distance rail travel in the United States.   

“While the rail network once literally put cities on the map in the United States, trains have long since faded in Americans’ minds as a preferred way of travel, ceding to both the car and the plane,” said GoEuro CEO and founder Naren Shaam. In fact, several high-speed rail projects, in California and Florida, have foundered due to disputes over funding and lack of political support. Europe, in contrast, is constantly upgrading its train networks and deploying faster and more luxurious accommodations on the rails.  

GoEuro covers most rail options in 11 European nations, especially the high-speed lines that are popular with American travelers, but it also compares trains with car and motorcoach alternatives to come up with suggested itineraries based on price, duration, and convenience.  

In its recent rail survey, GoEuro ranked Asian trains first for speed, comfort, and coverage of population areas, with Japan, South Korea, and China taking the top three spots.  High-speed rail networks in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Austria ranked  numbers 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, respectively.  Of the 20 countries in the world in which high-speed trains operate, the United States was ranked 19, ahead of only Finland. The United States and Russia shared the dubious distinction of having the lowest coverage of high-speed rail networks, each with less than 1%.  But 19 countries are planning new high-speed rail projects. 

GoEuro’s study is the first to measure the total coverage of high-speed train lines, which is the percentage of the population with access to high-speed trains from their home city.  Other factors: the ratio of high-speed trains to regular service; the average ticket price for the distance covered, and the maximum and average operating speeds of the trains. 

Japan, the first country to build a high-speed train network 50 years ago, now has trains capable of reaching a record speed of 374 miles per hour. France has the second-fastest high-speed trains, with a record speed of 357 mph. 

It’s not just the speed 

It’s not just the speed that draws Americans to trains abroad; it’s the relaxed setting as well as the option of luxurious quarters for those who want a splurge.  

“Some of those European trains are fantastic,” said Diana Hechler, owner of  D Tours Travel, in Larchmont, NY.  She particularly likes those in Belgium and in Germany,  “where they will post how fast they’re going; I once saw a speed of 310 km per hour,” she said. “It feels like the trains are flying, yet it also feels so incredibly smooth.”   

In recent years it’s gotten easier for U.S.-based agents to book, with the ability to print out tickets in advance.  There are some limits on how far in advance train trips can be booked, usually 60-90 days, but that’s not typically a problem for most clients.  

Popular train routes are Paris-London, Paris-Nice, Berlin- Munich, and several Italian trains like Florence- Venice.  On most of those routes, the introduction of higher speed service has shrunk travel time considerably. The Rome-Pompei route (via Naples), for example, once was three hours, but is now an hour and half.  

Train travel can be more expensive than other options, especially if a client wants to ride in first class.  But especially on shorter routes, such as those under five hours, it may beat out air travel for speed and convenience, said Hechler.  “It’s definitely the most preferred mode of travel.”    

Terry Regan, of Berkeley’s Northside, said he’s getting more requests for new high-speed trains in China.  

“I’ve got a request on my desk right now; they want the high-speed train from Hong Kong to Beijing to Shanghai,” he said. “But it’s not that easy to do it online from here.”  He said he typically uses a tour company for such bookings.  

A newly-famous train ride now, he said, is from Beijing to Tibet.  “It’s high-speed but it’s still a 24-hour trip,” he said. One unusual feature is that the rail cars are pressurized like aircraft cabins due to the high altitudes.  

Given the general interest in this mode of travel, it can help agents to be conversant with various rail products, Regan said. There’s just one caveat:  “We don’t get compensated very well for this product,” so that means airline-style fee pricing. He charges $29 per train reservation (that can include multiple passengers as long as they’re on one record.)  

“We have to know about it (rail) because our customers ask.  It’s just not as lucrative as it used to be,” he said.   

Pic: Kekegou