Which country has the best rail system?

Question

As in the efficiency of trains, high speed train networks, a high safety record and innovative trains and railway stations.

Answer 1

France has a train that goes extremly fast.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgWK8nz44...

Check it out, very cool.

Answer 2

Your question includes both apples and oranges.

In terms of "efficiency," the greatest efficiency is not in passenger transportation but rather in the transportation of freight.  Here, North American railroads are the heavy haul experts with heavy haul equipment and self-maintained heavy haul infrastructure at their disposal.

In terms of safety, when comparing ton/miles of rail service and ton/miles of highway freight carriers, again the rail companies have it hands down.

In terms of passenger travel, including high speed lines, I would argue, per capita, where speed and safety is concerned, China is actually in the lead, especially where innovations in stations are concerned.  This is in addition to their commitment to Mag-Lev technology.

Who can move a train load of coal efficiently and safely?  Look to North America.  Who will carry the most passengers, faster, further, safer and with the highest degree of efficiency?  China.

Answer 3

Japan

Answer 4

Switzerland. They are all clean and totally punctual. Why are so many people fixated on Japan, on its short stretch of Maglev from nowhere to anywhere. Just see how the whole transport system is totally integrated in Switzerland - trains, trams, buses, lake steamers. All runs like clockwork - well, it would, wouldn't it, being Switzerland.

Answer 5

Italy

Answer 6

The Japan peeps have it. I've been there and their trains are totally first class. Sorry but i don't get it with all the people saying switzerland because i've also been there and their trains are nothing special, i might as well be comparing it to the NYC subway.

Answer 7

I would say that Japan has the best rail system in the world. You might wanna take a look at this site.

http://www.photopassjapan.com/densha/

Answer 8

germany...no question

Answer 9

Probably the best of all is Switzerland in terms of the efficiency and coverage and safety of the system, but because of the mountainous terrain there are no real high speed lines. Second best is Germany which has a frequent dense system including excellent high speed inter city lines as well as good local coverage. Third best is France where the high speed TGV lines are second to none and commuter lines around Paris are excellent; France probably has the best safety record of all but is slightly let down by infrequent services on secondary lines and recent closures of some rural lines. Fourth equal are Holland and Britain. People answering questions on this site love to run down Britain's rail system, and there is no doubt fares not booked ahead of time on weekday early morning trains are too high, and the maximum speed on Inter City routes is only 125 m.p.h. compared with 185-200 m.p.h in many other European countries, but where Holland and Britain score very highly is having a very dense system covering virtually every corner of the country and generally running at very high frequencies too.

Answer 10

Switzerland

Answer 11

Japan! cooldude has answered it for you.

Answer 12

It's definetely Japan. They have the most advanced rail system in the world.

Firstly, there's the Shinkansen (bullet train) which holds the record as the fastest passenger train in the world. There are many different types of shinkansen, but the most advaned would be the Shinkansen 500 series and the Shinkansen N700 series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_Series_...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ5Fdzfm1...

There is also the Fastech 360 which is for now a prototype for the next generation Shinkansen with speeds up to 405km/h.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastech_360

And of course, there is the JR MAGLEV train which is a magnetically levitated train but there are still tests being done on experimental lines in Yamanashi prefecture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JR-Maglev#E...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQyj-3C99...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JR-Maglev#E...

Tokyo has a sophisticated subway system. It is clean, efficient and like no other.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Subwa...

Nagoya is also the world's largest train station and is home to the headquarters of the central Japan railway company (JR Central) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagoya_Stat...

So with all this, you know it is definetely Japan that owns rail power on the planet!

Answer 13

It is Japan with their ultra fast bullet trains which are extremely safe, punctual and reliable.  To r Denig_m's answer, why are so many people fixated on switzerland which is no bigger than Hawaii.

Switzerlands trains can't even compare to France's TGV or Germany's ICE left alone Japan's bullet train or JR Maglev, go get an education instead of l*****g swiss A S S!

Answer 14

So it's Switzerland, unless it's Germany, Japan, Italy, or Finland.  The railroads in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway are pretty good, too.  Oh, or maybe it's France.  Hard to arrive at a consensus.  My vote is for Finland.