Behind more than 70 million high-speed rail services a year lies a web of safety systems. At nearly 200 mph, even a single failure can have dramatic consequences.

The vast majority of train trips in America are pretty leisurely and slow. Most of the time, train travel is a romantic way to get around, but it’s not necessarily a fast one. That is, unless you live ...

China is racing to build a new kind of train that does not just rival jetliners, it threatens to redefine what “high speed” even means on land. Engineers are now testing a magnetic levitation system ...