Top 10 countries with best quality of railways

We rank the world’s leading rail systems using the most recent globally comparable indicator from the World Economic Forum, scored on a scale of 1 to 7 (with higher scores indicating better quality).

The latest dataset with full global coverage comes from the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report.

1) Japan (6.8/7)

Japan’s rail excellence is driven by the seamless integration of high-speed Shinkansen services with dense urban and commuter networks. Extensive electrification and meticulous asset maintenance keep ride quality smooth and punctuality exceptionally high.

2) Hong Kong SAR (6.5/7)

Hong Kong’s MTR operates at metro-level frequencies supported by automation and world-class maintenance regimes. Platform screen doors and standardised operations minimise dwell time variability.

3) Switzerland (6.4/7)

Switzerland’s clock-face timetable (Taktfahrplan), extensive tunnelling, and disciplined winter operations deliver outstanding reliability even across challenging alpine terrain.

4) South Korea (5.9/7)

South Korea combines KTX high-speed corridors with strong metro and commuter networks. Targeted freight management strategies help reduce track wear and protect performance.

5) Singapore (5.8/7)

Singapore’s compact, heavily utilised network relies on predictive maintenance and phased capacity expansion to maintain consistent headways and high service quality.

6) Netherlands (5.7/7)

A dense intercity and commuter network, combined with ETCS deployment and strong incident-response capability, helps limit cascading delays on one of Europe’s busiest rail systems.

7) Finland (5.5/7)

Finland’s rail reliability is underpinned by cold-weather engineering, heated switches, and well-defined winter operating practices that perform under extreme conditions.

8) Spain (5.4/7)

Spain’s extensive AVE high-speed network separates fast intercity services from conventional freight and commuter traffic, enabling higher average speeds and improved service quality.

9) Taiwan (5.4/7)

Taiwan benefits from purpose-built high-speed rail integrated with dependable metro and commuter systems. Strong seismic design and rapid recovery protocols help protect service continuity.

10) Austria (5.3/7)

Austria’s consistent reinvestment in alpine corridors, electrification, and long-tunnel projects has reduced gradients, shortened travel times, and improved overall network performance.

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