Higher-speed rail

Higher-speed rail (HrSR), also known as high-performance rail, higher-performance rail, semi-high-speed rail or almost-high-speed rail, is the jargon used to describe inter-city passenger rail services that have top speeds of more than conventional rail but are not high enough to be called high-speed rail services. The term is also used by planners to identify the incremental rail improvements to increase train speeds and reduce travel time as alternatives to larger efforts to create or expand the high-speed rail networks. Though the definition of higher-speed rail varies from country to country, most countries refer to rail services operating at speeds up to . The concept is usually viewed as stemming from efforts to upgrade a legacy railway line to high speed railway standards (speeds in excess of ), but usually falling short on the intended speeds. The faster speeds are achieved through various means including new rolling stock such as tilting trains, upgrades to tracks including shallower curves, electrification, in-cab signalling, and less frequent halts/stops. As with the definitions of high-speed rail, the definition varies by country. The term has been used by government agencies, government officials, transportation planners, academia, the rail industry, and the media, but sometimes with overlaps in the speed definitions. Some countries with an established definition of higher-speed rail include: In Canada, according to the Surface Transportation Policy, Department of Transport, the speed range for higher-speed rail is between . In India, according to the Ministry of Railways, the speed range for India's higher-speed rail will be between . In the United Kingdom, the term higher-speed rail is used for upgraded tracks with train speeds up to In the United States, the term "higher-speed rail", as opposed to "high-speed rail", is used by regional planners in many U.S. states to describe inter-city passenger rail services with top speeds of between and .