Proposed high-speed rail by country
[7][6] In 2012, ANESRIF began building a double-track 142-kilometre (88 mi) electric high-speed railway reaching speeds of 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph) from Oued Tlélat (Oran) with stops in Sidi Bel-Abbès and Tlemcen.
On 12 March 2018, Egyptian Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said that Egypt was in the process of launching a new high-speed railway linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in partnership with more than 10 international companies.
[12][13] In September 2020, a Chinese-Egyptian consortium consisting of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, the Egyptian Samcrete and the Arab Organization for Industrialization received US$9 billion to build a 543-kilometre-long (337 mi) high-speed railway capable of top speeds of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph).
On 14 January 2021, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Siemens Mobility and the Transportation Ministry's National Authority of Tunnels to design, install, and maintain Egypt's first high-speed rail system.
[21] In February 2023, the French construction company NGE signed a contract to build 330 kilometres (210 mi) of the line between Ain Sokhna and Borg El Arab with 100 turnouts.
[29] A third line is planned in the south from Safaga through Sahl Hasheesh, Hurghada, East Sohag, Qena, and Qus to Luxor at a total cost of $2.7 billion, with a construction time of two years.
[30] Contracts for the second and third lines were planned to be signed by Siemens in March 2022; the €8.1 billion contract was signed on May 31, 2022, between the Egyptian government and Siemens (and its consortium partners Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors), and includes construction of the second and third lines, 41 Velaro eight-car high-speed passenger trains, 94 Desiro high-capacity four-car regional trainsets, 41 Vectron freight locomotives, a level-2 European Train Control System and a suitable power grid.
[18][23] A planned extension eastwards from Marsa Matruh through El Negaila to Sallum on the Libyan border to Benghazi in Libya was announced by Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir in November 2020, and was confirmed by the Libyan-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce on 18 January 2021.
[26] Al-Wazir reiterated the Egyptian government's commitment to future extensions to Wadi Halfa in Sudan and Benghazi in Libya in March 2023 at the World High Speed Rail Conference in Marrakesh.
[38] The Libyan government approached Russia in 2018 to resume construction on the Sirte-Benghazi line, and Russian Railways responded that Tripoli would have to compensate the company for costs incurred after the project was halted in 2011.
[49] In 2020, the Namibian government undertook a detailed feasibility and design study for a line between the port in Walvis Bay through Windhoek to Gaborone, Botswana, and Pretoria, South Africa as part of the African Union's Agenda 2063.
[50] A 250-kilometre-per-hour (160 mph) rail link from the Egyptian city of Aswan to Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan has been proposed,[26] and a $2.5 million feasibility study was agreed with Kuwaiti investors in April 2022.
A high-speed 200-kilometre-per-hour (120 mph) rail connection between Santiago and Valparaíso was first proposed in 2018 by China Railway Group and the following year by Spanish-based Formento de Construccions y Contratas (FCC) and Talgo, via an alternate route through Limache and Tiltil.
[102] In March 2022, Russian-based RZD International approached Bangladesh Railway about financing the project after feasibility and design studies had been completed; the 225-kilometre (140 mi) route would cost an estimated $11.1 billion.
[128] The project is planned to have service at 22-minute intervals and thirteen stations, including Delhi (Kale Khan), Noida, Jewar Airport,[129] Mathura, Agra, Etawah, South Kannauj, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Rae Bareli, Prayagraj, Bhadoi, Banaras and Varanasi, with a railway bridge over the Ganges River.
[146] A reduced $1.5 billion plan for electrification and upgrading of the existing 967-kilometre (601 mi) line, with speeds increasing from 160 to 200 kilometres per hour (99 to 124 mph), was signed by a consortium of the Iranian MAPNA Group and Chinese companies in July 2017; China backed out in January 2021.
[148] The high-speed electrified connection between Tel Aviv and Haifa, which will cost $3.8 billion and reduce travel time from one hour to 30 minutes, is due to be completed by 2030 but has no budget for rolling stock.
Qazaqstan Temir Zholy, Kazakhstan's national rail company, has awarded a contract to oversee the design and construction of a high-speed line from Astana (the country's capital) to Almaty (its largest city).
[153][154] The trains are expected by be built by Tulpar-Talgo (a joint venture established in 2011 between Qazaqstan Temir Zholy and the Spanish company Talgo),[155] will have a maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) and make the trip in five-and-a-half hours.
Changes in foreign policy in during 2017 and 2018 encouraged both Koreas to begin international railway projects, and the chair of the State Affairs Commission has shown an interest in high-speed rail technology.
After the landslide defeat of Prime Minister Najib Razak in May 2018, his successor Mahathir Mohamad told the Financial Times that the project would be delayed in favor of cheaper alternatives such as spending RM 20 billion to upgrade the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) line to 200 km/h and extending it to Jurong East.
[175][176] Oman has planned a 2,144-km high-speed rail network connecting the seaports of Salalah, Duqm, and Sohar, and linking with the Gulf Railway at Hafeet on its border with the United Arab Emirates.
[188][189] In April 2013, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) announced plans by Metro Pacific Investments to fund a Clark-Metro Manila high-speed train project as part of a build–operate–transfer scheme.
[200] In October 2019, after months of delay, the Thai government signed a $7.4 billion agreement with a Charoen Pokphand-China Railway Construction consortium to build eastern HSR from Bangkok to Pattaya in a public-private partnership, with assets reverting to the state after 50 years.
[201] The Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a feasibility study of northern HSR to Chiang Mai, and reported in 2018 that passenger projections were too low for economic viability.
[210] Local opposition in Nakhon Ratchasima led to a change in design adding $131 million in costs and 28 months to the construction schedule to add an 8 km viaduct; problems are ongoing for the Ayutthaya station.
[233] The high-speed rail line would have two standard gauge tracks with no direct road crossings, and would allow trains to complete the Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City journey in about six hours.
[242] In March 2024, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology unveiled the Target Network 2040 (Zielnetz 2040) which included plans for a new high-speed railway line between Wels and the German border enabling travel times of 2.5 hours between Vienna and Munich.
[260] In September 2023, President Putin announced a 1.7 trillion ruble (US$18 billion) new project to build two new tracks between Moscow and St. Petersburg, increasing train speeds to 400 km/h over the 650 km journey, with financing by VEB.RF and Gazprombank for a proposed operation date of 2028.
[261] The long-stalled plans for a line between Moscow and Kazan have been resumed, with Chinese CRRC contracted to build part of the track and supply the trainsets at a Russian-owned Ural Locomotives plant, with the full project expected to be completed by 2024.
