South Korea has unveiled a new bullet train capable of traveling at speeds of nearly 200 miles per hour, the Korea Herald reported.
The KTX Cheong-ryong will travel at a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour, or 199 miles per hour. According to a list compiled by CNN, that would make it the fourth-fastest-operating train in the world
The new train was designed and manufactured entirely in South Korea, which launched its first bullet train —also designed and manufactured in the country — in 2008. South Korea was, at the time, the fifth country in the world to introduce a high-speed rail system, per the Korea Herald.
South Korea has embarked on a "train revolution based on 20 years of high-speed train operations," President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a speech.
High-speed rail is on the rise around the world — and that's good news for the planet.
Studies have shown that high-speed trains are the most efficient and least polluting form of long-distance travel when compared to cars and airplanes, transporting the most passengers with the fewest planet-overheating pollution. What's more, high-speed rail can run on clean electricity, unlike airplanes. Though electric cars are on the rise, cars still take up much more space while transporting fewer people at slower speeds than high-speed rail.
Countries like South Korea, China, and Japan now have robust high-speed rail systems, all of which have been built up relatively quickly, over the course of the last two decades. Several European countries also boast high-speed rail.
The United States, unfortunately, remains one of the world's most car-centric societies and is lagging far behind the above nations in terms of high-speed rail. However, there is some room for optimism, as California's long-delayed bullet train route is finally starting construction and several privately funded lines have begun to pop up.
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