High-Speed Trainset

A high-speed trainset is a self-propelled passenger train purpose-built to run at sustained speeds of roughly 200 to 250 kilometers per hour or more, the threshold the International Union of Railways sets for its fastest line category, distinguished by streamlined, aerodynamic bodies designed to reduce drag and, in many designs, by traction distributed across several carriages in the multiple-unit format rather than a single hauling locomotive. Japan's Shinkansen, whose original 0 Series trainset entered service in October 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka reaching a top speed of 210 kilometers per hour, is generally regarded as the first modern high-speed train, and France's TGV, which grew out of gas-turbine prototypes from the 1960s before adopting electric traction, later became one of the fastest, eventually exceeding 320 kilometers per hour in regular service. Earlier, more limited precedents existed, including Italy's ETR 200 electric multiple unit, designed for 200 kilometers per hour and running between Bologna and Naples from 1938. This entity covers the vehicle class itself, the physical trainset, distinct from the High-Speed Rail mode and the infrastructure it runs on.