L0 Series maglev
JR Central · 2015
- Top speed
- 603km/h375mph168m/s326knOfficial5.8× cheetah
- Absolute speed
- 603km/h375mph168m/s326knOfficial
#1 of 4 · Fastest Trains
Vehicles · Ranked by top speed
Fastest Trains in the World (2026)
This list is test runs. Commercial timetables are a separate list, so a service speed is not dropped and is not mixed in here. Four runs are ranked, all in the kilometres per hour their sources print. The L0 Series leads at 603 km/h on 21 April 2015. Guinness names formation A07, Central Japan Railway and the Yamanashi Maglev Line. Railway Gazette reported 603 km/h that day. The BBC reported 603 km/h on 21 April 2015.
4 rankedA source on every row
4 trains, ties share a rank.
- 1L0 Series maglev
JR Central · 2015
603km/h375mph168m/s326kn5.8× cheetah - 2MLX01 maglev
JR Central · 2003
581km/h361mph161m/s314kn5.6× cheetah - 3TGV V150
Alstom / SNCF · 2007
574.8km/h357mph160m/s310kn5.5× cheetah - 4TGV Atlantique 325
SNCF · 1990
515.3km/h320mph143m/s278kn4.9× cheetah
The MLX01 prototype is next, at 581 km/h. Railway Gazette places it in December 2003. Reuters and the BBC, writing about the later TGV record, both say a Japanese maglev reached 581 km/h in 2003. None of the three prints a calendar day, so none is invented. The TGV V150 reached 574.8 km/h on 3 April 2007, in Alstom's release and in Reuters and the BBC. TGV Atlantique trainset 325 reached 515.3 km/h on 18 May 1990. The BBC rounds that to 515.
A later 590 km/h L0 run did not clear three sources. The Shanghai maglev's 431 km/h cruise, and the 300 km/h timetable that replaced it, are on the commercial-rail list. Checked 8 October 2026.
The lineup · 4 on file
Meet the trains
One card per entry, with its headline figure and where it ranks.
Ranked by top speed
Fastest Trains
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