China leads the world in high-speed rail... and Egypt is closing in with its own ultra-high-speed projects

 70% of the world's high-speed rail is in China alone 

China leads the world in high-speed rail... and Egypt is closing in with its own ultra-high-speed projects

In a global race to develop high-speed rail networks, China continues to solidify its unrivaled lead, having extended its lines to over 40,000 miles, making it the world's largest network by a significant margin over its closest competitors.

Not content with breaking existing records, China plans to add thousands more miles in the coming years. China alone controls 70% of the world's high-speed rail lines, while striving to achieve the global standard for rail density across its vast territory.

China's trains transported 3.38 billion tons of goods in 10 months.

India comes in second in terms of future plans, aiming to establish a network nearly 5,000 miles long. The United States ranks third with over 3,700 miles, although the length of its operational lines remains limited, making the US network the least dense globally, according to World Population Review.

The surprise is Egypt's entry into the top ten, with plans for a high-speed rail network extending over 2,000 miles. This surpasses countries like Iran and Thailand and brings it closer to Japan and France, reflecting a significant ambition to modernize infrastructure and transportation in the region.

Here are the leading countries in the high-speed rail race (total planned lengths in miles):

1. China: 40,249 miles

2. India: 4,963 miles

3. United States: 3,772 miles

4. Spain: 3,467 miles

5. Turkey: 2,895 miles

6. France: 2,771 miles

7. Japan: 2,285 miles

8. Egypt: 2,097 miles

China not only leads in network length but also in speed, with its trains reaching speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour. The United States, on the other hand, falls short of true competition, with a maximum speed of 240 kilometers per hour.