<P> Taiwan High Speed Rail's first and only HSR line opened for service on 5 January 2007, using Japanese trains with a top speed of 300 km / h (190 mph). The service traverses 345 km (214 mi) from Nangang Station to Zuoying Station in as little as 105 minutes . Once THSR began operations, almost all passengers switched from airlines flying parallel routes while road traffic was also reduced . </P> <P> High - speed rail was introduced to China only in the last 20 years but has rapidly developed into the world's most extensive network . In December 2013, the country had 11,028 km (6,852 mi) of track in operation, accounting for about half of the world's total at the time . By the end of 2014, China had 16,000 kilometres (9,900 miles) of high - speed rail lines, accounting for 60% of the world's total . By the end of 2016, the total had risen to over 20,000 kilometres (12,000 miles). Over 1.713 billion trips were made in 2017, more than half of the China's total railway passenger delivery, making it the world's busiest network . </P> <P> State planning for high - speed railway began in the early 1990s, and the country's first high - speed rail line, the Qinhuangdao--Shenyang Passenger Railway, was built in 1999 and opened to commercial operation in 2003 . This line could accommodate commercial trains running at up to 200 km / h (120 mph). Planners also considered Germany's Transrapid maglev technology and built the Shanghai Maglev Train, which runs on a 30.5 km (19.0 mi) track linking the city and its international airport . The maglev train service began operating in 2004 with trains reaching a top speed of 431 km / h (268 mph), and remains the fastest high - speed service in the world . Maglev, however, was not adopted nationally and all subsequent expansion features high - speed rail on conventional tracks . </P> <P> In the 1990s, China's domestic train production industry designed and produced a series of high - speed train prototypes but few were used in commercial operation and none were mass - produced . The Chinese Ministry of Railways (MOR) then arranged for the purchase of foreign high - speed trains from French, German, and Japanese manufacturers along with certain technology transfers and joint ventures with domestic trainmakers . In 2007, the MOR introduced the China Railways High - speed (CRH) service, also known as "Harmony Trains" (和谐 号), using trains with foreign technology . </P>

Who has the fastest bullet train in the world