High-Speed Rail Around the World
Why have some countries built world-class high-speed rail systems while others continue to struggle?
Planned flagship report + interactive (30–40 pp + Interactive). Why have some countries built world-class high-speed rail systems while others continue to struggle? This investigation is on the Atlas editorial roadmap; the draft has not yet been published. (Roadmap placeholder.)
An Atlas Interactive
Why have some countries built world-class high-speed rail systems while others continue to struggle?
Click a country below to begin.
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Timeline
2024
Key Insights
Italy
Direct competition between operators on the same tracks drove fares down and service up: proof that liberalization, not just investment, can be a growth strategy.
China
China built more high-speed rail in twenty years than the rest of the world combined.
United States
The American gap isn't geography or engineering; it's follow-through.
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The map shows where high-speed rail happened. The written report argues why: history, politics, funding, and what the next generation of investment should learn from both columns of this map.
Return to the written report →Continue Exploring