FRANCE
Paris to Strasbourg: 200 mph, 2 hours and 19 minutes (from $68 at raileurope.com). Comparable flight: 1 hour on Air France, $79
SPAIN
Madrid to Barcelona: 220 mph, 2 hours and 30 minutes (from $169 at raileurope.com). Comparable flight: 1 hour and 15 minutes on Air Europa, $40
CHINA
Beijing to Tianjin: 217 mph, 30 minutes (from $9 at the train station). No comparable flight
ITALY
Milan to Naples: 186 mph, 5 hours and 35 minutes (from $122 at italiarail.com). Comparable flight: 1 hour, 30 minutes, on EasyJet, $45
JAPAN
Tokyo to Osaka: 186 mph, 2 hours and 36 minutes ($134 at the train station; also included in Japan rail passes, from $285 for a seven-day pass at japanrail.com). Comparable flight: 1 hour and 5 minutes on Japan Airlines, $229
ENGLAND/FRANCE
London to Paris: 186 mph, 2 hours and 25 minutes (from $98 at eurostar.com). Comparable flight: 1 hour and 20 minutes on EasyJet, $30
DOES THE U.S. MATCH UP?
New York City to Washington, D.C.: 135 mph, 2 hours and 52 minutes ($155 at amtrak.com). Comparable flight: 1 hour and 15 minutes on US Airways (La Guardia-Reagan National) from $64
Philadelphia to Boston: 150 mph, 5 hours ($115 at amtrak.com). Comparable flight: 2 hours and 40 minutes on US Airways with one stop ($191), or 1 hour and 15 minutes on United ($531)