1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. HEMU-430X Test run: Minseong Kim This photo was taken with Canon EOS 550D· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
HEMU-430X (standing for High-Speed Electric Multiple Unit 430 km/h eXperimental) is a South Korean experimental high-speed train designed to achieve a maximum speed of 430 km/h (267 mph). On 31 March 2013, it achieved a record of 421.4 km/h (261.8 mph) during a test run, making South Korea the world's fourth country after France, Japan and China to develop a high-speed train that operates above 420 km/h (261 mph). The notable feature of this train compared to older South Korean high-speed trains is distributed traction.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- Top speed is 3.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 6 minutes.
- 8.2 MW is about 96 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 147 m long: about 33 cars parked nose to tail.
high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.
spec sheet
- built
- —
- number built
- 1
- kind
- high-speed train
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇰🇷 South Korea
- builders
- Hyundai Rotem
- operators
- Korea National Railway, Korea Railroad Corporation
- top speed
- 430 km/h
- power
- 8.2 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- 25 kV/60 Hz AC overhead line
- formation
- TC+4M+MC, TC: trailer car (unpowered driving trailer), M: motorized intermediate car, MC: motorized trailer car (powere…
- length
- 147 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5629454, Wikipedia: HEMU-430X (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.