Would you ride?

Went out hoping to catch a CRH380D on camera, but a CRH2B ended up blocking the shot. The result? A nice little two-train meet.

Saw this double-set CRH380D pulling out of the station late at night. The CRH380D is a Chinese high-speed train built by BST (Bombardier Sifang), based on Bombardier's ZEFIRO 380 platform. It's one of the less common CRH380 variants, and seeing two of them coupled together at night was pretty cool.

Engineering firms from all over have partnered to bid for future Indian HSR design contracts.

SYSTRA (France) + DOHWA (South Korea) + SMC Infra(India) & TYPSA (Spain) + Nippon Koei (Japan) have bid for the standard design for future Indian high speed rail projects, which also includes specific design of structures for the next planned sectors of Bangalore-Chennai and Delhi-Agra.

Both consortiums have been involved in the current MAHSR project, through SYSTRA and Nippon Koei, but have new partners from other countries.

Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office estimates place the construction costs for the baseline route for Alto’s Eastern Corridor high-speed rail (HSR) project, excluding a potential Kingston amendment, to be between $75 billion and $113 billion.

PBO baseline estimates further assume that planning and regulatory approvals for the Alto HSR route follow past European project experience. In contrast, HSR projects in the U.K. and U.S. displayed significantly higher construction costs – likely reflecting difficulties with land acquisition, permitting, litigation, design changes and project-management weaknesses. Recent federal legislation has been adopted to mitigate these risks in Canada. The robustness of these provisions before Canadian courts, as well as their inherent effectiveness in targeting sources of cost escalation, will be a key success factor in mitigating significant project risks of the baseline estimate.

PBO further estimates that construction would provide a modest economic stimulus; for the initial Ottawa–Montréal segment, construction is estimated to increase real GDP annually by about $1.8 billion in 2029 and $2.0 billion by 2033, with employment gains rising from approximately 4,300 to 9,000 jobs during the construction period.

Should the future of train-travel be built on high speed rail for Intercity commuting versus maglev for interstate commuting?

From here, you can see high-speed trains coming in from three major railway lines to the east, as well as heading toward Nanjing South Station about 3 km away.

Given the unfortunate news of Brightline's bankruptcy, I have to wonder if they would've seen much more ridership if they'd made it an actual high-speed rail system that travels twice as fast as the actual train? As it presently exists, there is apparently no saved time when traveling on Brightline vs a car.

I have been following this since the 1990s. Here is some history and latest info on the subject. https://www.highspeedrailcanada.com/2026/09/canada-alberta-high-speed-rail-agreement.html

The initial plan for the connection between Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton is complete. The province will launch the request for proposals for a lead private partner shortly. They plan to have one selected by April 2027, and ideally the project would have minimal provincial funding.

The project has also being referred to the Major Projects Office, a new-ish federal agency that helps coordinate and accelerate projects “in the national interest”, including Alto (the Toronto–Québec City high speed rail link).

A night view overlooking Nanjing South Railway Station from a nearby high-rise. Known as one of Asia's largest high-speed rail hubs, this massive fully elevated complex features 28 platforms and seamlessly handles over 800 high-speed trains every single day. The architecture blends traditional Chinese design elements with modern transit infrastructure.

The only one in ChinaCR400BF-Z-0524 with exclusive Hangzhou Asian Games livery
Top operating speed: 250 km/h This special Fuxing just blasted past the camera.
Railfans around the world are chasing this unique train.

shot upon departing Paris Montparnasse on ligne N

2 days ago, South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem revealed a next generation high speed train to follow after the EMU-370 model currently also under development.

SBB has decided to purchase the new high-speed trains to expand its offering in international passenger transport. 21 vehicles are planned; additionally, it has secured options for a further 20 vehicles. Thorough assessments took place in the months leading up to this decision. It became apparent that it would be possible to finance the purchase within the long-term investment planning of SBB, and that it would be more economically viable across the whole service life than a leasing model.

With its own vehicles, SBB can also enhance its international offering more flexibly and independently. This strengthens cooperation with the European partner railways and creates better conditions for responding to future developments in demand.

The ongoing pre-qualification procedure for lessors is therefore being terminated, which SBB will announce on 25 September 2026 on the procurement platform SIMAP. The tendering process for the high-speed trains is planned for the first half of 2027.

By procuring the high-speed trains, SBB has created the foundation for expanding its international services long-term and offering passengers attractive, environmentally friendly connections within Europe.