Planned high-speed rail by country

This article lists planned or proposed high-speed rail projects, arranged by country. Although many nations have done preliminary feasibility studies, many lines are eventually shelved or postponed due to high cost, and only a few nations of those proposing are actively building high-speed rail lines. Planned or proposed lines are therefore separated here from lines that are under construction, some nations having both. High-speed rail is public transport by rail at speeds in excess of 200 km/h (125 mph).

Africa

African Integrated High Speed Railway Network

In 2013, the African Union passed Agenda 2063, a 50-year development trajectory which includes establishing a continental free trade zone, a common passport, an end to armed conflict, an annual African economic forum, a space program, a Great African Museum, establishment of e-universities, and a continent-wide high speed rail network. Africa currently has the lowest rail density of all the inhabited continents, with 16 African countries lacking rail altogether, especially in Central Africa; most existing rail lines are single-track freight lines operating at 30 km/h which beeline from ports to industrial zones like mines and forests.

The AU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China in 2014 for the 30-50 year development of the continental rail system connecting all continental African capitals using modern rail technology, and facilitate interoperations by using a single gauge as opposed to the current nine. The goal of a high speed rail network is to facilitate intra-African trade and lower shipping costs. The initial timeline for 2022 was to have 100% of the preparatory work complete, but currently only 12.3% of the network has been studied, largely due to funding constraints. Pre-feasibility studies which have been completed so far include the Cotonou-Niamey-Ouagadougou-Abidjan Railway at 2891 km which would cost US$5.022 billion to build and rehabilitate, and US$866 million for equipment. The Djibouti- Libreville corridor was estimated to be 2366 km and cost US$5.277 billion, and the Dakar-N'Djamena-Djibouti corridor was estimated to be 5139 km and cost US$14.05 billion. It has not yet been specified which rail lines will operate at 330 km/h, 250 km/h, and 160 km/h.

The Masterplan 2033 plans for 35,828 km of rail construction in Africa with the following projects. The first three are accelerated pilot projects actively under study/construction. The objectives by 2033 are to connect sixteen landlocked countries to sea ports, to provide interconnections between different regions, and provide Trans-Africa corridors. The Master Plan 2043 will expand on this network to connect all political and economic capitals by rail.

A: Accelerated Pilot Projects

# Kigali- Dar Es Salaam (1476 km)
# Kampala- Bujumbura (596 km)
# Walvis Bay-Windhoek-Gaborone-Johannesburg (1643 km)
B: Pilot Projects, as part of the 2033 Master Plan

# Tunis- Algiers- Casablanca (1981 km)
# Douala-Bangui
# Kampala-Nairobi
# Dakar-Bamako (1147 km)
# Asmara-Addis Ababa (771 km)
# Lusaka- Beira
# Alexandria-Khartoum
# Ouagadougou-Abidjan (1120 km)
# Niamey-Cotonou (955 km)

C: 2033 Master Plan
# Nairobi-Mombasa (459 km)
# Bamako-Ouagadougou-Niamey-N'Djamena-Khartoum (5384 km)
# Addis Ababa-Djibouti (637 km)
# Pointe Noire-Brazzaville- Kinshasa-Bujumbura (1755 km)
# Johannesburg-Maputo (524 km)
# Pretoria-Durban (626 km)
# Algiers-Abuja-Lagos (4111 km)
# Lobito-Lusaka (2253 km)
# N'Djamena-Bangui- Brazzaville-Luanda (2240 km)
# Addis Ababa-Nairobi- Dodoma- Lusaka-Gaborone (4812 km)
# Khartoum-Addis Ababa
# Luanda-Windhoek (1882)
# Mbeya-Lilongwe-Harare-Johannesburg-Maseru (3115 km)
# Lilongwe-Nacala (815 km)
# Lamu-Juba (1547 km)
# Bangui-Juba (1551 km)
# Juba-Kampala (672 km)
D: 2043 Master Plan
# Alexandria-Benghazi-Tripoli-Tunis (2770 km)
# Casablanca-Laayoune-Nouakchott-Dakar (2733 km)
# Dakar-Banjul-Conakry-Monrovia-Abidjan-Accra-Lagos-Douala (7595 km)
# Yaoundé-Bata-Libreville (594 km)
# Mogadishu-Addis Ababa
# Windhoek-Cape Town (1632 km)
# Maseru-Cape Town (1135 km)
# Tripoli-N'Djamena (2437 km)

Algeria

In 2012 the Administration of Algeria Railway (ANESRIF) began building a double-tracked 142 km electric high-speed railway reaching speeds of 220 km/h from Oued Tlélat ( Oran), with stops in Sidi Bel-Abbès and Tlemcen, and is 80% complete in fall 2021, with 129 viaducts totaling 14 km and 3 tunnels totaling 1.5 km. The project was due to be finished in 2019, but faced delays due to problems with land acquisition and due to COVID-19, and is set to open by the end of 2021. In 2015, the administration started building the extension from Tlemcen to Akkid Abbas ( Maghnia) on the Moroccan border, a total of 56 km designed for 220 km/h journeys, but is only 7% complete as of fall 2021, largely due to land acquisition controversies in Tlemcen and Mansourah. This section will contain the largest viaduct in Africa, the M'dig Viaduct over the Isser river, (near Aïn Fezza), which will be 130 meters high, and 1.8 kilometers long, and a 600m tunnel into downtown Tlemcen, which will boast a renovated train station. The whole 198 km project is estimated at 2 billion euros.

Egypt

On 12 March 2018, Egypt's Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said that Egypt is in the process of launching a new high-speed railway linking the Mediterranean (Most likely referring to the northern coastal governates like Alexandria, Beheira) and the Red Sea with the participation of more than 10 international companies.

In September 2020, a Chinese-Egyptian consortium consisting of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and the Egyptian Samcrete and the Arab Organization for Industrialization won a US$9 billion to build a 543-km-long high-speed railway capable of top speeds of 250 km/h. The electric-powered trains would be manufactured in Port Said with a Chinese technology transfer to Egypt.

The first 660 km was planned to begin at Mersa Matruh on the Mediterranean Sea, pass through Al-Alamein, Borg El Arab, then to Wadi El Natroun, on to the 6th October City, through southern Cairo to the New Administrative Capital, and end in Ain Sokhna on the Gulf of Suez of the Red Sea, As of January 2021, surveying and route planning have been completed and construction is underway to build bridges and track. This initial segment is intended to be used for both passengers and freight, and is projected to cost US$3 billion with a completion date of 2023. On 14 January 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Siemens Mobility and the National Authority of Tunnels, an authority under the Ministry of Transportation of Egypt to design, install, and maintain Egypt's first high-speed rail system. The initially-dubbed "second line" between Alexandria and Borg El Arab was combined into this contract, and both are under construction as of 2022. The Siemens-led consortium was awarded a $4.5 billion contract to build the lines from Ain Sokhna to Marsa Matruh and to Alexandria in September 2021, and is scheduled for completion in 2027. The line will be outfitted with Velaro high-speed passenger trains. This 660 km segment will be designed to carry up to 30 million passengers annually, cut travel times in half, and cut carbon emissions by 70%.

A second line will stretch from Sixth of October City through Fayoum, Minya, Aswan, and Abu Simbel over 1,100 km on the west bank of the Nile. Local stations will include Al-Ayat, Al-Fashn, Al-Adwa, Bani Mazar, Samalout, Abu Qurqas, Mallawi, and Dayrout. Survey and construction work for this line began in March 2022 by Egyptian authorities, especially around 6 October City and Fayoum, with an anticipated design speed of 250 km/h, but preliminary operation of express trains at 230 km/h. An extension of this line was announced in May 2022 from Aswan through Abu Simbel to Toshka and Sharq El Owainat in the Western Desert, as well as an extension to Wadi Halfa, in Sudan. The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development signed a $2.45 million feasibility study for a 283.5 km line from Aswan to Toshka and Abu Simbel, as well as the 80 km extension to Sudan, which includes a 6 km bridge across Lake Nasser.

The third line is planned in the south from Safaga through Sahl Hasheesh, Hurghada, East Sohag, Qena, and Qus, ending in Luxor, at a total cost of $2.7 billion with a construction time of two years. Contracts for building the second and third lines were planned to be signed by Siemens in March 2022; the 8.1 billion euro contract was signed on May 31, 2022 between the Egyptian government and Siemens (and its consortium partners Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors), and includes the construction of the second and third line as well as 41 Velaro 8-car high-speed passenger trains, 94 Desiro high-capacity four-car regional train sets, and 41 Vectron freight locomotives, as well as ETCS Level 2 and a suitable power grid.

The entire network is projected to cost US$23 billion and span over 2000 km.

Intent to build an extension eastwards from Marsa Matruh through El Negaila to Sallum on the Libyan border, to Benghazi in Libya, was announced by Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir in November 2020, and was again confirmed by the Libyan-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce on 18 January 2021. An extension to Siwa was also mentioned. This is part of the Egyptian government's larger plan to build political and economic links with both Libya and Sudan, including to Wadi Halfa.

Libya

Prior to the 2011 Libyan Revolution, the government under Gaddafi was actively building a high-speed rail line capable of 200 km/h operation from the Tunisian border to the Egyptian border, at a total cost of $7.9 billion. Russian Railways had won the $2.9 billion deal for the section between Sirte and Benghazi, with an anticipated completion in 2012; at least 14 km out of the planned 554 km line was laid. China Railway had been working on a $2.6 billion link between Sirte and Khums, with plans for extension westwards to Tripoli. In 2010, the Libyan government proposed a feasibility study for a $2 billion high-speed rail line between Benghazi and Tobruk, expected to be completed by 2012. Trains were to run on diesel, with eventual electrification planned. Dorsch Afrique was also involved in designing the 150 km high-speed connection between Tobruk and Umm Saad on the Egyptian border. Three kilometers of high-speed track were finished, including a station in Tripoli and one kilometer of tunnels, and thirty kilometers of right-of-way had been cleared in 2003. The rail line was subsequently plundered for its steel during the civil war.

The Libyan government has tried to resume the project several times. In 2015, Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni visited Moscow and set up a commission to review the project. In 2018, the Libyan government approached Russia to resume construction on the Sirte-Benghazi line, and Russian Railways responded that Tripoli would have to compensate the company for costs incurred after the project was halted in 2011. In January 2021, the Egyptian government announced plans to extend its proposed high-speed link from Alamein through El Salloum to Benghazi in Libya.

Morocco

A trans-Maghreb high-speed rail line linking Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia is being planned. The project is expected to begin in Morocco and move towards Algiers, and finally reach Tunis. However, the difficult historical relations between Morocco and Algeria make the project not immediate. Part of this project line has opened as of November 2018 in the high-speed rail Al-Boraq, that service between Casablanca and Tangier, in Morocco and is the first of its kind on the African continent.

By 2040, Morocco additionally is planning to build a route from Kenitra to Marrakech for 40 billion MAD/~$4 billion (upgrading the current Kenitra-Casablanca segment to high-speed), and to build a route from Marrakech to Agadir for 50 billion MAD/~$5 billion. China Railway Corporation has expressed interest in the latter project to the Moroccan government in the summer of 2021. In March 2022, following completion of the design studies for the Marrakech-Agadir project, a Korea National Railway-led consortium secured a $32 billion contract with ONCF (Moroccan National Railways) for section three of the planned 230 km line.

The ONCF has announced plans to also build high-speed rail between Rabat-Fez- Oujda, on the Algerian border, by 2040. With initial feasibility studies completed, in July 2022 the ONCF announced that the first section (Rabat- Khemisset-Meknes) has begun environmental and social review, spurred by the ongoing success of the already-built sections between Tangier and Casablanca.

Namibia

As of 2020, the Namibian government is undertaking a detailed feasibility and design study to plan a line between the port in Walvis Bay through Windhoek to Gaborone (Botswana) and Pretoria (South Africa), as part of the African Union Agenda 2063. Construction would begin in 2023 at soonest.

Sudan

A 250 km/h rail link from the Egyptian city of Aswan to Wadi Halfa in the north of Sudan has been proposed. The $2.5 million feasibility study was signed with Kuwaiti investment in April 2022. A further standard-gauge extension from Halfa to Khartoum has been proposed to give travelers from there a one-seat ride to Alexandria.

Tunisia

The Tunisian government and Tunisian Railways ( SNCFT) are currently planning a high speed rail in three parts: a new 180 km line from Ras Jedir on the Libyan border to Gabès, to be built to 250 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight, estimated to cost TND 2.6 billion ($917 million). The second phase will continue from Gabès through Sfax, Sousse, Nabeul, Tunis, and finish in Bizerte, a 480 km segment that will involve both new track and upgrading existing lines, for an estimated TND 14 billion ($4.9 billion). The third phase will involve an upgrade of the current line between Tunis and Tabarka on the Algerian border, a 180 km segment whose cost is estimated at TND 9.4 billion ($3.3 billion). The total cost of the 840 km electrified standard gauge line traversing the country is estimated by the Tunisian government to be TND 26 billion ($9.2 billion), as of fall 2021. No concrete action seems to have been taken beyond initiating a discussion of a partnership by the Tunisian president, Kaïs Saïed, with French president Emmanuel Macron on 22 June 2020. The following year in June 2021, President Saïed attempted to secure a loan from the European Investment Bank to finance the project, which was refused as the country had already borrowed 7 billion DT ($2.3 billion) in the prior decade; the bank suggested upgrading current rail infrastructure instead.

South Africa

On 7 June 2010, Minister of Transport Sbusiso Ndebele said that plans were seriously being considered for a high-speed line from Johannesburg to Durban. The line would reduce the current journey time from 12 hours to about 3 hours. The 721 km line would involve major engineering challenges, including traversing the Drakensberg mountains. A high-speed line from Johannesburg to Cape Town is also under study. The $30 billion plan was seriously discussed with China Railway Group which wanted South Africa to contribute 40% of the capital, while South Africa was hoping that Chinese banks would provide a loan for the project. As of 2020, South Africa's Department of Transport announced plans to establish a high speed rail network in the country by 2025, specifically between Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban. The importance of this freight corridor was affirmed in Parliament in July 2021, the Chinese ambassador to South Africa confirmed in April 2022 its intent to collaborate in building a passenger/freight rail link between Johannesburg and Durban, but there remain significant questions about funding. In fall 2022, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined a National Rail Act to provide financing for feasibility studies.

Asia

Bangladesh

Bangladesh considered building a high speed rail link between Dhaka and Chittagong in 2005. The government short-listed France's SNCF and Japan Railways for the project. But the plan was then shelved. Spain and China had later, in 2014, expressed interests in developing the Bangladesh Railway into a high-speed network. In summer of 2021, the Chinese ambassador in Dhaka, Li Jiming, stated that China was interested in investing in the construction of the line. In March 2022, Russian-based RZD International approached Bangladesh Railway about financing the project, for which feasibility and design studies have already been completed; the 225 km route would cost an estimated $11.1 billion. In June 2022, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, Li Jiming, expressed interest in the project and wrote to Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan for accelerated negotiation of signing a memorandum of understanding between China Railway Group and Bangladesh Railways under a government-to-government Public Private Partnership.

The economic feasibility has a good outlook: 90% of the country's trade runs through Chattogram port, and 80% of exports run on the current Dhaka-Chattogram highway, giving strong incentive to create a usable freight rail line. A 300 km/h direct passenger journey would hover at 55 minutes, increased to 75 minutes with intermediate stops in Narayanganj, Cumilla, and Feni; the current travel time is six hours.

Cambodia

In December 2021, Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed that the government of Cambodia is interested in high-speed-rail, with a feasibility study for upgrading the current standard line from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville (266 km), and from Phnom Penh to Poipet (386 km). He also stated intent to build new rail lines by continuing from Poipet through Siem Reap to Kampong Thom, and building a line from Phnom penh to Bavet on the Vietnamese border. The current railways can only run between 20–30 km/h, largely due to damage from the civil war in the 1970s, and the line to Sihanoukville was rehabilitated in 2016, while the line to Poipet was only rehabilitated in 2018, which reconnected to the Thai rail network across the border in 2019. The country's prime minister has assigned the Minister of Public Works and Transport with the task of finding an international development partner.

India

The Ministry of Railways under Government of India has proposed to build about route length tracks of High Speed Rail lines across eight corridors, with average operating speeds of . Four more corridors are currently under consideration to be proposed under the National Rail Plan 2022, which will increase the number to 12 corridors, bringing the total length to 8,110 km (5,039 mi). Formation of National High Speed Rail Authority (NHSRA), a body that will look after the implementation on High Speed Rail in India had been announced in Rail budget of 2012–2013, although no firm date has been set for construction initiation or completion. Central Japan Railway Company has promoted the Shinkansen for India, while France has also shown interest in collaboration for long-term development of the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. Spain's Talgo has also expressed interest in the projects, and plans to open an office in India to promote its technology.

In collaboration with Japan, India is building its first high-speed railway, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor, on a long route between Mumbai and the western city of Ahmedabad. On 12 December 2015, India and Japan signed a deal for a US$15 billion deal to build a high-speed line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Japan will provide a very low interest loan of US$12 billion. This deal was part of a greater Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) involving transfer of defense technology and civil nuclear cooperation among others. Pre-construction preparatory work began in the third quarter of 2017, and was expected to be completed in December 2023. However, due to slow land acquisition in Maharashtra and due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which caused lack of labor and resulted in delays in work, the expected date of completion for the corridor's portion from Surat to Bilimora in Gujarat is now delayed to 2026, while the entire corridor will be completed by October 2028. The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) plans to operate the E5 Series Shinkansen trains at speeds up to . It is expected to cost about , of which 81% is financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The Government of Kerala has proposed in constructing a high-speed rail corridor by the name of Silverline to carry both freight and passengers along the length of the state, from Kasargod in the north end to Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram in the south end. The project reduces the current travel time of 12 hours to just under 4 hours from north to south with a maximum designed speed of , versus the current average speed of 45 km/h. The project is estimated to be completed by 2025 and is expected to cost . The Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways (jointly: Kerala Rail Development Corporation) plan intermediate stations in Kannur, Kozhikode, Tirur, Thrissur, Cochin Airport, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Chengannur, and Kollam; of the 1383 hectares needed for the project, 1198 are private land, and the project would displace 30,000 families. Other criticisms of the project include the plan for standard gauge in a system that uses Indian gauge, low ridership estimates, hydrological problems, and stations distant from the city centers. The project missed the mid-July 2022 deadline for completing the social impact assessments for the line, having only consulted 45 out of 190 villages involved, leaving the project in legal limbo in front of the Kerala High Court. The Minister of Railways of India expressed his doubts about the feasibility of the Silver Line project on 29 July 2022.

A third high speed rail project between Delhi and Varanasi is under construction and will cover an 813 km distance in less than 4 hours, at a speed of 330 km/h (compared to the 10 hour journey today). The project is planned to have service at 22 minute intervals with thirteen stations, including Delhi (Kale Khan), Noida, Jewar Airport, Mathura, Agra, Etawah, South Kannauj, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Rae Bareli, Prayagraj, Bhadoi, Banaras, and Varanasi, with a railway bridge over the Ganges River.

A fourth high speed rail project proposed by the Karnataka state government would run 485 km from Mysuru (Mysore) through Bengaluru (Bangalore) to Chennai, cutting the current 9 hour journey to 3 hours (45 minutes between Mysuru and Bengaluru), at a cost of . As of summer 2022, the Karnataka government has begun acquiring land for the right of way, and is awaiting a Memorandum of Understanding with neighboring state Tamil Nadu to facilitate land acquisition for the project.

Indonesia

Since 2006, Indonesian authorities have expressed an interest in high-speed rail for the densely populated island of Java, probably linking the cities of Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya."Indonesia to Build Railway for High-Speed Trains"
RedOrbit, 7 February 2006. Since 2008, government with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Transportation Consultant has done pre-feasibility study. The Jakarta-Surabaya High-Speed Rail is 685 km (425 mi) long. It will connect both the cities in 35 minutes (compared with current 2 hours 53 minutes) with a maximum speed of 350 km/h and average speed 300 km/h. The construction project will need 14.3 billion, exclude land acquisitions and detail engineering design, so the total cost predicted was $20 billion.

In July 2015, Indonesian Government revealed their plan to build high-speed rail in Indonesia. Japan and China competed to win the project, previously both nations have done comprehensive studies on the project. On late September 2015, Indonesia awards this multibillion-dollar railway project to China. On 16 October 2015, Indonesia and China signed an agreement to build Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail as first phase of the project. Groundbreaking has been done on 21 January 2016. The project has 60% of Indonesian consortium and 40% of China Railway International. The project is 90% completed as of fall 2022, and is expected to begin its operations in the end of 2022. The two governments are in talks to resolve the (US $) cost overrun for the first section.

Completion of the next phases of the project to Cirebon, Semarang, and Surabaya is uncertain given that the capital's relocation and completion of the Trans-Java highway might affect demand. However, the Indonesian Transportation Ministry has outlined the construction of high-speed rail to Semarang as a priority as of spring 2022.

Iran

Iran has a high-speed rail under construction connecting three major cities of Tehran, Qom and Isfahan. The line will have a station in Imam Khomeini International Airport. The route length will be 422 km (262 mi) with the operating speed of 350 km/h, decreasing the travel time from 5 hours to 90 minutes. The project costs over 7 billion Euros and will be open in 2022, built by China Railway Engineering Corporation.

A 117 km (73 mi) double track branch from Qom to Arak will be built for 300 km/h headway at 1.2 billion euros (including Arak station and 6 viaducts), a contract which the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways initially awarded to Italian-based Ferrovie dello stato in 2017, but was reawarded to Chinese corporations following enforcement of US-led sanctions in 2018, alongside many other rail projects.

Another high-speed rail was planned to link Tehran the capital to Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran. In 2016, the route was planned to have 800 km rail and the speed of 400 km/h which would have decreased the travel time from 8 hours to 3.5 hours. A reduced $1.5 billion plan for electrification and upgrading of the existing 967 km line from 160 km/h to 200 km/h was signed by a consortium of Iranian (Mapna Group) and Chinese companies in July 2017, before the Chinese backed out in January 2021.

Israel

In 2020, Israel's National Infrastructure Committee approved high-speed rail links between the four metropolitan cities – Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba. The project is slated for completion by 2040, with a top speed of 250 km/h. The high-speed electrified connection between Tel Aviv and Haifa will cost $3.8 billion and reduce travel time from 1 hour to 30 minutes, due to be completed by 2030 but with no budget for rolling stock. Further plans currently planned for completion by 2040 include an extension north of Haifa, a continuation from Tel Aviv through Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem, and an unspecified connection to Beersheva.

Japan

A maglev line between Tokyo and Osaka, the Chuo Shinkansen, is under construction by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central).
The Nagoya-Tokyo section is planned to be opened in 2027. The Nagoya-Osaka section is projected to be completed in 2045.

The route is to be privately financed through bond sales by JR Central, but the intermediate stations will be financed by local governments.
JR Central expects at least 8 years between the completion of the Tokyo section and the start of construction of the Osaka to rebuild its financial position.
The federal government is exploring options to accelerate the project.

Research on high-speed rail systems based on magnetic levitation have been ongoing since the 1970s, led by JR Central.
The trains and guideways are technologically ready and over 100,000 people have ridden them.
Pre-series L0 series trains on the Yamanashi Test Line have reached speeds of (crewed), making them the fastest trains in the world.
The Yamanashi test track is to be incorporated into the under construction Tokyo–Osaka maglev route.

Extensions to the current network expansions, notably from Hakodate to Sapporo, have been approved for construction. The route of the final extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen has not been finalised. It is ultimately to provide a northern route through to Osaka.

Conventional routes planned in 1973 are on hold (to be built after current lines opening). Further Hokkaido Shinkansen extension was proposed in 1970s, even to Russian border via possible tunnel, tunnel to South Korea is also proposed.

Kazakhstan

Qazaqstan Temir Zholy, the national rail company of Kazakhstan, has awarded a contract to oversee the design and construction of a high-speed line from Nur-Sultan (the country's capital) to Almaty (its largest city). The line is expected to be long, and will travel via Karaganda and Balkhash. A viaduct across Lake Balkhash is planned near Sayaq. The trains are expected by be built by Tulpar-Talgo (a joint venture established in 2011 between Qazaqstan Temir Zholy and Spanish company Talgo), and will have a maximum speed of , completing the trip in five and a half hours. The system will use Russian gauge, the same as used by Kazakhstan's existing conventional lines.

In 2021, the Kazak Prime Minister Asqar Mamin announced plans to extend the high-speed rail line terminating in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, across the border to Shymkent and Turkistan.

North Korea

North Korea does not have a high-speed railway. Attempts were made in the 1970s to speed-up its network, when one electric trainset (using the bullet-train design) was built. However, the trainset never had regular services, due to bad economic situation and even 1990s crisis. In the 2000s, the Chinese government proposed a high-speed railway for DPRK, but these proposals are still too far from planning or construction stage. Changes in foreign policy in 2017–2018 period encouraged both Koreas to start international railway projects. The Chairman of the State Affairs Commission many times paid his attention to high-speed rail technology

Malaysia

A high-speed rail running at 300 km/h (186 mph) to link Kuala Lumpur and Singapore was proposed in 2006 by YTL Corporation, operator of the KLIA Express in Malaysia, although the company did propose a similar system back in the late 1990s. Plans for the project were put on hold in April 2008 due to high cost to the government, estimated at RM8 billion. The project also faces opposition from rail operator rivals such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu, and the liberalisation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore air route further dampened prospects for the proposal.

In 2007, Siemens expressed interest in becoming the technology provider for the proposed rail link. By the middle of 2009, YTL again revived talk on the project and expressed hope that the Malaysian government would relook at the proposal, claiming that delays in the project has caused development costs to rise over the years.

In 2010, Malaysia had made a proposal to revive the project. In the new proposal, the route will be in two phases; the first one is from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore while the second phase will be from Kuala Lumpur to Penang.

On 19 February 2013, Singapore and Malaysia announced that they officially agreed to build a high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore by 2020. The KL – Singapore section was planned to be about 380 km long with an expected travel time of 90 minutes. The high-speed railway terminus for Singapore was to be located in Jurong East at the Jurong Country Club site while the terminus for Malaysia was to be located at Bandar Malaysia in Sungai Besi.

After the landslide defeat of Najib Razak in May 2018, his successor, Mahathir Mohamad told the Financial Times that the project would be delayed in favor of cheaper alternatives, like spending RM 20 billion to upgrade the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) line so that trains can run at 200 km/h and align the KTM line to Jurong East Station. On 5 September 2018, an agreement to defer the project until 31 May 2020 was signed between Singapore and Malaysia with completion pushed back to 1 January 2031 instead of 31 December 2026, following initial plans to scrap it. In addition, Malaysia remitted S$15 million in abortive costs to Singapore on 31 January 2019.

Subsequently, on 31 May 2020, Singapore agreed to Malaysia's request to delay the project for the final time to discuss and clarify proposed changes, ending on 31 December 2020. As no agreement could be reached by that day, on 1 January 2021, the HSR project was terminated. As a result, Malaysia needed to pay compensation to Singapore of about S$102.8 million, which was transferred on 29 March 2021. In March 2022, talks were scheduled again between the Malay and Singaporean governments to revive the high-speed rail project under new terms.

On 26 February 2022, Thailand and Malaysia agreed to carry out a feasibility study between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. On 17 May 2022, the two countries set up a joint committee to coordinate the planning of the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur HSR project.

Myanmar

Plans have been published to build a high-speed railway between Yangon and Kunming in China, a distance of 1920 km. Construction is said to start after agreements with China was signed in 2011. 1/sup> The project was put on hold in 2014 due to financial feasibility and national security concerns. The project was rebooted in 2019.

Oman

Oman, which currently has no rail network, has planned a 2,144 km national high-speed rail network, mainly connecting the seaports of Salalah, Duqm, and Sohar, and linking to the Gulf Railway at Hafeet on its border with the United Arab Emirates. The project was put on hold in 2014 due to oil prices collapsing, and the link to the Gulf Railway was paused in 2016 as other countries paused the project. The planned network will be double-tracked, non-electrified, and have 220 km/h passenger traffic but plan to increase to 350 km/h, and international connections to Yemen through Mazyounah and to the Emirates through Al-Buraimi.

Pakistan

In 2021, Haier Pakistan suggested a 1,872 km passenger between Peshawar and Karachi along the current motorway which could run at 350 km/h and reduce the travel time to 5 hours and 30 minutes. However the validity of the news is still a question.

Persian Gulf Countries

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) plan a 2200-kilometre rail network, Etihad Railway, which may include high-speed rail from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. However it presently runs only a freight line in between.

In 2010, the government of Qatar has announced it intends to have high-speed rail links to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia built in time for its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This project was sidetracked by the Qatar crisis, but in early 2022, the Qatari and Saudi ministers of transport resumed talks about the proposed highspeed rail link.

In 2022, the Saudi Crown Prince proposed a megaproject in Tabuk (The Line) which would feature a 500 km/h rail line.

Philippines

The San Miguel Corporation proposed building a bullet train system connecting Laoag City in the northern part of Luzon island, with Manila and the Bicol Region in Southeastern Luzon. As of 2010, this project has been put on hold.

In April 2013, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) announced plans by the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) to fund the Clark-Metro Manila high-speed train project under a Build-Operate-Transfer scheme. The project will be called "Express Airport Trains" and will have at least three stops in Metro Manila. It will be built between the lanes of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). The trains are planned to have stops in Quezon City, Manila, and Makati. However, it was later revealed that the new "Airport Express" service has a maximum speed of and does not qualify as true high-speed rail. It would rather qualify as higher-speed rail similar to trains on the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway which was also marketed during its proposal stage as a high-speed line. Similarly, the South Main Line reconstruction project, dubbed " South Long Haul", will have express trains that have the same maximum speed.

Current railway projects such as the PNR South Long Haul are being designed for eventual upgrading to high-speed rail, and there are plans for HSR. There are also plans for a high-speed rail network in Mindanao as part of future upgrades to the upcoming Mindanao Railway network with a top speed of .

Singapore

See Malaysia.

Thailand

The State Railway of Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Transport have plans for several high-speed rail lines. A HSR line to the eastern seaboard was first proposed in 1996 but there was no progress for over a decade. In 2009, the government requested the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) to create a plan for new HSR network in Thailand that included an eastern HSR line to Rayong. In October 2009, it was reported that funding was being sought for four lines, linking Bangkok to Chiang Mai (711 km), Nong Khai (600 km), Chanthaburi (330 km), and Padang Besar (983 km). In November, it was reported that the Thai cabinet had approved the plan, with the shorter Eastern HSR route to Chanthaburi being intended for construction first. The total cost of all routes are 800 billion baht or US$25 billion. In October 2010, the Thai parliament approved initial proposals for a high-speed rail network to be built with Chinese industrial partners; 5 lines capable of 250 km/h would radiate from Bangkok, with the line to Ubon Ratchathani later dropped. The routes were finalized before the 2011 election with the promise to begin construction the next year if the government was re-elected, but they lost the election.

After the 2011 election of opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra, the new government reviewed all HSR plans, cutting them into phases with priority between Bangkok and Pattaya, Hua Hin, and Nakhon Ratchasima, expecting to tender the lines in 2014.

After the May 2014 coup there were further delays while the military government reviewed all HSR lines, initially deferring all projects. Transport Minister Prajin Juntong and his Japanese counterpart Akihiro Ota signed a deal on 27 May 2015 to conduct a feasibility study for the full Northern HSR. In early 2016, the military government (NCPO) agreed to proceed with the eastern HSR route and suggested that it could be extended to Don Mueang International Airport beyond the terminus at Bang Sue Intercity Terminal thus providing a direct link between the three major airports of Bangkok, including Suvarnabhumi Airport, and U-Tapao International Airport. In 2017, the Office of Traffic Policy and Planning, alongside the Ministry of Transport and the State Railway of Thailand, agreed to this revised plan. In October 2017, the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EEC Office) finalized previous plans to build the 10 station Eastern HSR line linking Don Mueang airport, Bang Sue, Makkasan, Suvarnabhumi Airport, Chonburi, Si Racha, Pattaya, U-Tapao Airport, and Rayong. In early 2018, the section to Rayong was excluded due to environmental and safety concerns and it was decided that the line would terminate at U-Tapao Airport. In October 2019, after months of delay, the Thai government signed an agreement with a Charoen Pokphand- China Railway Construction consortium worth $7.4 billion to build the Eastern HSR from Bangkok to Pattaya in a public-private partnership, with assets reverting to state ownership after 50 years.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a feasibility study for the Northern HSR to Chiang Mai, and in 2018 reported that the passenger projections were too low for economic viability. The 670 kilometer line was estimated to cost 400 billion baht, and both private investors and the Japanese government turned away from the project.

The Southern HSR to Hua Hin would be 211 km, and estimated at 152 billion baht, and a full extension to the Malaysian border was discussed in September 2021. In 2022, Malaysia and Thailand agreed to set up a joint committee to coordinate a Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur high speed rail project, with a feasibility study begun in February.

As of summer 2022, Thailand has fully committed to building the $12 billion Northeastern HSR to the Laotian border by 2028 at a 250 km/h double-tracked standard-gauge.

Turkey

The Turkish government has significantly invested in high speed rail, with some lines like the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway having opened in 2014, the Ankara-Konya high-speed railway having opened in 2011, with the extension to Karaman opened in winter 2022. Continuation of the line from Karaman to Ulukışla is currently under construction in 2022, and further plans to link Aksaray, Ulukışla, and Mersin have an anticipated opening in 2024, but are not yet tendered. The Turkish government aims to connect 52 provinces with high-speed train networks by 2053, and will elaborate on further lines as current construction comes to completion.

Lines currently under construction include the Ankara-Sivas high-speed line, which was originally planned to open in late 2021, but will likely open sometime in 2022 due to construction deficiencies, and will reduce travel times to under 2 hours. A further 247 km extension from Sivas to Kars is concretely planned as an electrified and double-tracked line with a design speed of 250 km/h, and the five-station design study between Sivas and Erzincan was completed in July 2021.

A spur from Yerköy to Kayseri has not yet been tendered, but is planned to be completed by 2025, reducing travel times between Ankara and Kayseri from seven hours to two hours. The 142 km spur to Kayseri would be double-tracked electrified rail designed for 250 km/h operation with 9 tunnels totaling 12.9 km. Construction on the spur officially began in July 2022, and will include intermediate stations at Şefaatli, Yenifakılı, and Himmetdede.

The Ankara-Izmir high-speed railway is a planned 588 km double-tracked electrified railway built for 250 km/h operation, whose initial section to Afyonkarahisar is scheduled to open in 2022. The extension to Izmir will contain 49 tunnels totaling 41 km, 56 viaducts totaling 23 km, and six new stations, reducing the current 9-hour road trip to a 3.5 hour travel time.

A 106 km spur off the Istanbul-Ankara line from Osmaneli

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases