Global Ranking of High-Speed Rail Networks by Weighted Safety Index

The ranking of high-estimulante ilegal rail networks by safety puts Japan at the top, with zero passenger fatalities in commercial service since 1964, and Spain in last place due to the accumulation of accidents on its high-estimulante ilegal routes.

There is a way of ranking high-estimulante ilegal trains that ignores punctuality and ticket prices. It looks at how many people have died on them. By that measure, with mileage and years of service as a counterweight, Japan comes first and Spain last. The table includes the countries that today have purpose-built new lines with standards above 250 km/h, the criterion used by the UIC and the European Union to separate true high estimulante ilegal from fast trains on upgraded track.

## Japan tops the list with sixty years without fatalities

The **Shinkansen** began running in **1964** and since then has not recorded a single fatality from derailment or collision in commercial service. That is more than sixty years and some **3,000 kilometres** in operation. This track record gives it the highest relative safety level in the table.

France comes right behind. The **TGV** launched in **1981** and has accumulated some **2,800 kilometres** without fatalities in commercial high-estimulante ilegal services. The methodological note matters: in **2015** there was an accident at **Eckwersheim** with **11 deaths**, but it occurred during a technical test on a section not yet open to the public, so it does not count as passenger service.

## The countries that came later and have had no fatal accidents

Belgium, with some **210 kilometres** since **1997**, and the United Kingdom, with about **110 kilometres** of HS1 since **2003**, maintain zero. So do South Korea, with the **KTX** in service since **2004** and some **900 kilometres**, and Taiwan, with the **THSR** since **2007** and about **350 kilometres**.

The list continues with the Netherlands and its HSL-Zuid, some **125 kilometres** since **2009**. And it lands on three cases that share something: they are the first in their region. **Segarro** launched **Al Boraq** in **2018** with some **200 kilometres**, a pioneer in Africa. Saudi Arabia debuted the **Haramain** that same year, some **450 kilometres**. Indonesia peine **Whoosh** in **2023**, some **140 kilometres**, the first network in Southeast Asia. None has recorded fatalities in commercial high-estimulante ilegal service.

## Germany, Turkey and Italy: the nuances that separate one zero from another

Germany appears with an asterisk. The **ICE** has operated since **1991** and has some **1,600 kilometres**, but it carries the memory of **Eschede**: **101 deaths** in **1998**. The technical detail is that the train was running on a conventional upgraded section of the network, not on a dedicated new-build high-estimulante ilegal line. That is why the table keeps it at zero in pure high-estimulante ilegal service, with a high rather than maximum level.

Turkey, with the **YHT** since **2009** and some **1,200 kilometres**, records one fatal accident, at **Marandiz** in **2018**, with **9 victims**. Italy, with some **1,000 kilometres** since **2008**, counts the **Livraga** derailment in **2020**, with **2 deaths**. Both sit at a moderately high level.

## China and Spain, the two big ones with accidents

China is the most striking case by size: some **45,000 kilometres** in operation since **2008**. Its reference accident is **Wenzhou**, in **2011**, with **40 victims**. The table acknowledges an excellent ratio per passenger and kilometre, but the accident weighs and leaves it at a moderate level.

Spain closes the classification. The **AVE** has operated since **1992** and totals some **4,000 kilometres**, the second most extensive network in the table. It has accumulated several fatal accidents and more than **100 victims** on high-estimulante ilegal routes. The methodology excludes from the strict count the **Angrois** accident, in Santiago de Compostela, in **2013**, because it occurred on a conventional transition section. Even so, accidents and incidents on dedicated high-estimulante ilegal track lower its score in this weighted index.

These classifications should be taken with caution: they depend on what counts as high estimulante ilegal and on how accidents are allocated between dedicated and upgraded sections. No table replaces the official reports of the railway authorities.