Intercity 125 The stalwart of the British rail network merits its place on the list by being the fastest diesel train in the world, a record it achieved in 1987 and still holds today for travelling at a speed of 148 mph. Development of the 125 started during the 1960's and the first train entered service in 1976.
HS4000 Kestrel. IT has been described by its admirers as the best-looking diesel locomotive to grace the railways of Britain… and even today it still holds the record as the mightiest in terms of brake horsepower.
Class 374 Eurostar e320
Class 374s are currently the fastest trains currently operating on UK shores. Known to most as Eurostar e320 trains, Class 374s have a top speed of 199mph, but are limited to 186mph while in operation.
The InterCity 125 took the world record for the fastest diesel-powered train, when it was recorded at an absolute maximum speed of 148 mph (238 km/h) during 1987.
The high-speed diesel trains that became HST or Intercity 125 consisted of Mark 3 coaches placed between two streamlined locomotives, one at each end. Each locomotive was equipped with a Paxman Valenta diesel engine capable of producing 2,250 horsepower (1,680 kW).
The InterCity 225 was designed for a top speed of 140 miles per hour and many features are based on the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train (APT).
The world record for the fastest diesel-powered train, a speed of 148 mph (238 km/h), was set by an HST on 1 November 1987, between Darlington and York with a test run for a new type of bogie for use on Mark 4 coaches on the same route. The record run was led by 43102 and trailed by 43159.
Intercity 125
The stalwart of the British rail network merits its place on the list by being the fastest diesel train in the world, a record it achieved in 1987 and still holds today for travelling at a speed of 148 mph.
On 30 November 1934 his Flying Scotsman, an A1 Pacific, was the first steam locomotive to officially exceed 100mph in passenger service, a speed exceeded by the A4 Mallard on 3 July 1938 at 126mph, a record that still stands.
Union Pacific reached out to EMD for more power, and the result was the behemoth EMD DDA40X. Often cited as both the largest and most powerful diesel-electric locomotive ever built, the 98-foot, 5-inch, 475,830-pound machine is staggering. The prime movers are a pair of EMD 16-645E3A diesels.
What is the most famous diesel locomotive in the history of railroading? Arguably, the classic Electro-Motive “F-unit” can lay claim to the title. The Electro-Motive “F-unit”: Born in the autumn of 1939, it would be produced, in eight different models, until 1960 and would number more than 7,500 strong.
The researchers found battery-operated trains could replace diesel locomotives on shorter, low-energy routes such as the 200km Gladstone - Moura corridor in central Queensland.
HS2 is Britain's new zero carbon, high-speed railway, and the UK's flagship transport levelling up project. It is the biggest rail investment ever made in the North of England and is Europe's largest infrastructure project.
In 1938, Mallard, one of his new high-speed engines, set a world record for a steam locomotive of 203kph (126mph). It was pulling a special train, including a speed-recording “dynamometer” car, on the main line between London and Edinburgh.
The AC6000CW is a 6,000-horsepower (4,500 kW) diesel electric locomotive built between 1995 and 2001 by GE Transportation. It is among the world's most powerful single-engined diesel locomotives. The locomotive was designed for extremely high horsepower needs, such as pulling heavy coal and ore trains.
Novocherkassk 4E5K for Russian Railways, 17,838 horsepower
All hail Mother Russia: with 17,838 horsepower, the Novocherkassk 4E5K locomotive is the most powerful in the world.
The Shanghai Maglev, also known as the Shanghai Transrapid, tops the list with its maximum operating speed of 460km/h and average speed of 251km/h. It has a record high-speed of a staggering 501km/h. The maglev train isn't a conventional high-speed model.
How Maglev trains work. SC Maglev, or superconducting magnetic trains, were developed by the Central Japan Railway Company and the Railway Technical Research Institute beginning in the 1970s. Maglev trains work on the principle of magnetic repulsion between the cars and the track.
Rather than resting on tracks, the train floats through a series of magnetized loops 65 feet in the air, Fast Company reports. Those loops propel the train forward, like a rail gun, at speeds upwards of 804 kilometers per hour (500 miles per hour), which is about the average cruising speed of a plane.
The current world speed record for a commercial train on steel wheels is held by the French TGV at 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), achieved on 3 April 2007 on the new LGV Est.
The ICE (InterCity Express) is a high-speed train that connects all major cities in Germany. With speeds up to 300km/h, this is one of the fastest ways to travel between cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.