China's Harmony Express, world's fastest train

China's new high speed train made its debut Saturday, December 26, 2009, with average speeds of 217 mph.  The Harmony Express traveled 683 miles from Wuhan to Guangzhou in less than 3 hours, a trip that previously took 11 hours.  Compare that to Amtrak's Silver Meteor - the 641-mile journey from New York to Charleston, SC takes 14 hours.

The new high speed train connects central China to the Pearl River Delta and smaller towns.  By 2012 the government plans to install 42 more high speed rail lines, hoping to drive economic growth throughout the country.

Also the world's longest high speed passenger train, the Harmony Express topped speeds of 245 mph during trial runs in early December.  France previously operated the world's fastest train at 172 mph.  The U.S. lags behind, with Amtrak's Acela Express reaching its top speed of 150 mph between the Boston and New Haven, Connecticut route.

Germany's Siemens, France's Alstom and Montreal's Bombardier worked on the project, which took 4 years and a reported $17 billion to complete.  With average urban salaries in China at $4,200 per year, not many workers will be able to afford the approximately $114 first class ticket.  Second class is a more economical, but still costly, $72.  It remains to be seen how many trains will be sold out after the novelty wears off.

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