RZD, a top speed of 250 km/h

Deutsche Bahn

In the Netherlands, 
test runs have begun on the country’s first high-speed rail route. 
A high-performance locomotive from Siemens will be pulling two Deutsche Bahn cars equipped with measuring instruments — at speeds from 120 to 250 kilometers per hour. 

When the service begins on the route in 2007, trains will be hurtling along its rails at 300 km/h. The stretch from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam to the Belgian border is a key element to linking the Netherlands with Western Europe’s high-speed rail network. 

At slightly less than 100 kilometers, 
this section alone will cut more than one hour from the Amsterdam-Paris route, which will then take about three hours.