Travel Times — Multi-Modal Corridors

The Table

City to city, continent to continent.

Each route follows the network as drawn on the World Network maps. The same structure carries passengers and freight; the hyperloop and maglev columns are the passenger speeds, the freight columns the goods speeds.

How the times are worked out

Route: the shortest path along the MMC network, corridor by corridor, city to city in straight lines, multiplied by the route factor of 1.2 for the built alignment.
Passenger speeds: hyperloop 1,000 km/h; maglev 600 km/h.
High-speed freight, two speeds: 350 km/h, the design speed of China’s high-speed freight prototype presented by CRRC in 2020; and 320 km/h, the maximum speed of JR East’s freight-only Shinkansen, in service between Morioka and Tokyo since March 2026. High-speed freight carries light, high-value goods: parcels, fresh food, pharmaceuticals and precision equipment.
Freight: 200 km/h, a target above today’s freight trains, which run at up to 120 km/h (160 km/h for China’s express freight trains). Heavy-haul bulk freight is limited to about 100 km/h by traction and braking and is not shown.
Running time only: each time is the built distance divided by the speed, as if the whole route ran at that speed. Stops, acceleration, braking, dwell, border and transfer times are not included, so door-to-door times are longer.
Air, for reference: great-circle distance at 850 km/h plus 2.5 hours for access, check-in, boarding and taxiing. Routes with no direct flight, and connections, are not modelled.
Future crossings (†): routes marked † use a future sea crossing, the target as technology allows: the Strait of Sicily, the Luzon Strait, or Singapore to Jakarta through the Java Sea.
Australia: Australian routes are planned on MMA and are not in this table. Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea join the network by undersea links until the future rail crossings are built.

The spines, end to end

Spine	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Pacific Spine Santiago – Bering Strait	20,418	20 h 25	34 h 02	2.4 days	2.7 days	4.3 days	18 h 42
Atlantic Spine Buenos Aires – Medellín	12,269	12 h 16	20 h 27	35 h 03	38 h 20	2.6 days	8 h 15
Southern Cross Santiago – Buenos Aires	1,562	1 h 34	2 h 36	4 h 28	4 h 53	7 h 49	3 h 50
Asian Spine Bering Strait – Singapore	16,871	16 h 52	28 h 07	2.0 days	2.2 days	3.5 days	13 h 55
Pacific Rim Line Khabarovsk – Japan – Korea – Shenyang	5,471	5 h 28	9 h 07	15 h 38	17 h 06	27 h 21	3 h 53
South Asian Spine Bangkok – Peshawar	5,291	5 h 17	8 h 49	15 h 07	16 h 32	26 h 27	6 h 50
Eurasian Spine Peshawar – London	8,916	8 h 55	14 h 52	25 h 28	27 h 52	44 h 35	9 h 27
African Spine Cairo – Cape Town	10,912	10 h 55	18 h 11	31 h 11	34 h 06	2.3 days	11 h 01
Three Continents Line Cairo – Riyadh	2,825	2 h 50	4 h 43	8 h 04	8 h 50	14 h 08	4 h 26
Trans-Sahel Line Dakar – Khartoum	7,444	7 h 27	12 h 24	21 h 16	23 h 16	37 h 13	8 h 48
Santiago – Singapore Pacific Spine and Asian Spine, through the Bering Strait	37,289	37 h 17	2.6 days	4.4 days	4.9 days	7.8 days	21 h 48

East Asia

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Beijing – Shanghai	1,450	1 h 27	2 h 25	4 h 09	4 h 32	7 h 15	3 h 45
Beijing – Hong Kong	2,518	2 h 31	4 h 12	7 h 12	7 h 52	12 h 36	4 h 49
Shanghai – Guangzhou	1,769	1 h 46	2 h 57	5 h 03	5 h 32	8 h 51	3 h 56
Beijing – Chengdu	2,028	2 h 02	3 h 23	5 h 48	6 h 20	10 h 08	4 h 18
Beijing – Ürümqi	2,982	2 h 59	4 h 58	8 h 31	9 h 19	14 h 55	5 h 20
Tokyo – Osaka	477	29 min	48 min	1 h 22	1 h 29	2 h 23	2 h 58
Tokyo – Sapporo	1,016	1 h 01	1 h 42	2 h 54	3 h 11	5 h 05	3 h 29
Seoul – Busan	420	25 min	42 min	1 h 12	1 h 19	2 h 06	2 h 53
Tokyo – Seoul	1,743	1 h 45	2 h 54	4 h 59	5 h 27	8 h 43	3 h 51
Seoul – Beijing	1,434	1 h 26	2 h 23	4 h 06	4 h 29	7 h 10	3 h 37
Beijing – Taipei	2,735	2 h 44	4 h 34	7 h 49	8 h 33	13 h 41	4 h 32
Beijing – Tianjin	132	8 min	13 min	23 min	25 min	40 min	2 h 38
Beijing – Moscow	7,777	7 h 47	12 h 58	22 h 13	24 h 18	38 h 53	9 h 19
Moscow – Vladivostok	8,850	8 h 51	14 h 45	25 h 17	27 h 39	44 h 15	10 h 03

South-East and South Asia

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Bangkok – Singapore	1,914	1 h 55	3 h 11	5 h 28	5 h 59	9 h 34	4 h 11
Kuala Lumpur – Singapore	388	23 min	39 min	1 h 06	1 h 13	1 h 56	2 h 52
Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City	1,697	1 h 42	2 h 50	4 h 51	5 h 18	8 h 29	3 h 51
Kunming – Bangkok	1,650	1 h 39	2 h 45	4 h 43	5 h 09	8 h 15	3 h 59
Singapore – Jakarta †	1,110	1 h 07	1 h 51	3 h 10	3 h 28	5 h 33	3 h 34
Manila – Taipei †	1,539	1 h 32	2 h 34	4 h 24	4 h 49	7 h 42	3 h 52
Jakarta – Surabaya	845	51 min	1 h 24	2 h 25	2 h 38	4 h 13	3 h 17
Delhi – Mumbai	1,489	1 h 29	2 h 29	4 h 15	4 h 39	7 h 27	3 h 51
Delhi – Kolkata	1,740	1 h 44	2 h 54	4 h 58	5 h 26	8 h 42	4 h 02
Mumbai – Chennai	1,396	1 h 24	2 h 20	3 h 59	4 h 22	6 h 59	3 h 43
Mumbai – Bengaluru	1,047	1 h 03	1 h 45	3 h 00	3 h 16	5 h 14	3 h 30
Kolkata – Dhaka	303	18 min	30 min	52 min	57 min	1 h 31	2 h 48
Delhi – Lahore	604	36 min	1 h 00	1 h 44	1 h 53	3 h 01	3 h 00
Karachi – Lahore	1,317	1 h 19	2 h 12	3 h 46	4 h 07	6 h 35	3 h 43
Bangkok – Delhi	4,199	4 h 12	7 h 00	12 h 00	13 h 07	21 h 00	5 h 56
Delhi – Colombo	3,207	3 h 12	5 h 21	9 h 10	10 h 01	16 h 02	5 h 21

Central Asia and the Middle East

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Almaty – Tashkent	871	52 min	1 h 27	2 h 29	2 h 43	4 h 21	3 h 17
Tashkent – Kabul	1,082	1 h 05	1 h 48	3 h 05	3 h 23	5 h 25	3 h 23
Kabul – Herat	774	46 min	1 h 17	2 h 13	2 h 25	3 h 52	3 h 15
Kabul – Tehran	2,078	2 h 05	3 h 28	5 h 56	6 h 30	10 h 23	4 h 24
Tehran – Istanbul	2,626	2 h 38	4 h 23	7 h 30	8 h 12	13 h 08	4 h 54
Istanbul – Ankara	467	28 min	47 min	1 h 20	1 h 28	2 h 20	2 h 55
Baghdad – Istanbul	2,396	2 h 24	4 h 00	6 h 51	7 h 29	11 h 59	4 h 23
Riyadh – Jeddah	1,021	1 h 01	1 h 42	2 h 55	3 h 11	5 h 06	3 h 30
Riyadh – Hofuf	358	21 min	36 min	1 h 01	1 h 07	1 h 47	2 h 51
Riyadh – Dubai	1,157	1 h 09	1 h 56	3 h 18	3 h 37	5 h 47	3 h 31
Dubai – Muscat	495	30 min	49 min	1 h 25	1 h 33	2 h 28	2 h 56
Amman – Damascus	220	13 min	22 min	38 min	41 min	1 h 06	2 h 42
Cairo – Riyadh	2,323	2 h 19	3 h 52	6 h 38	7 h 15	11 h 37	4 h 26
Tehran – Baku	765	46 min	1 h 17	2 h 11	2 h 23	3 h 50	3 h 08
Moscow – Tehran	3,748	3 h 45	6 h 15	10 h 43	11 h 43	18 h 45	5 h 24

Europe

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
London – Paris	537	32 min	54 min	1 h 32	1 h 41	2 h 41	2 h 54
Paris – Brussels	357	21 min	36 min	1 h 01	1 h 07	1 h 47	2 h 49
Paris – Berlin	1,193	1 h 12	1 h 59	3 h 25	3 h 44	5 h 58	3 h 32
London – Edinburgh	657	39 min	1 h 06	1 h 53	2 h 03	3 h 17	3 h 08
Madrid – Barcelona	635	38 min	1 h 03	1 h 49	1 h 59	3 h 10	3 h 06
Paris – Madrid	1,399	1 h 24	2 h 20	4 h 00	4 h 22	7 h 00	3 h 44
Lisbon – Madrid	621	37 min	1 h 02	1 h 46	1 h 56	3 h 06	3 h 06
Milan – Rome	615	37 min	1 h 01	1 h 45	1 h 55	3 h 04	3 h 04
Rome – Tunis †	1,271	1 h 16	2 h 07	3 h 38	3 h 58	6 h 21	3 h 12
Paris – Rome	1,518	1 h 31	2 h 32	4 h 20	4 h 45	7 h 35	3 h 48
Berlin – Warsaw	654	39 min	1 h 05	1 h 52	2 h 03	3 h 16	3 h 07
Vienna – Budapest	262	16 min	26 min	45 min	49 min	1 h 18	2 h 45
Copenhagen – Stockholm	679	41 min	1 h 08	1 h 56	2 h 07	3 h 24	3 h 07
Stockholm – Helsinki	506	30 min	51 min	1 h 27	1 h 35	2 h 32	2 h 58
Warsaw – Kyiv	874	52 min	1 h 27	2 h 30	2 h 44	4 h 22	3 h 19
Berlin – Moscow	2,079	2 h 05	3 h 28	5 h 56	6 h 30	10 h 24	4 h 24
Istanbul – Vienna	1,665	1 h 40	2 h 47	4 h 46	5 h 12	8 h 20	4 h 00
London – Istanbul	3,366	3 h 22	5 h 37	9 h 37	10 h 31	16 h 50	5 h 27
Athens – Belgrade	1,062	1 h 04	1 h 46	3 h 02	3 h 19	5 h 19	3 h 27

Africa

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Cairo – Alexandria	217	13 min	22 min	37 min	41 min	1 h 05	2 h 43
Cairo – Khartoum	2,206	2 h 12	3 h 41	6 h 18	6 h 54	11 h 02	4 h 25
Khartoum – Addis Ababa	1,287	1 h 17	2 h 09	3 h 41	4 h 01	6 h 26	3 h 39
Addis Ababa – Nairobi	1,469	1 h 28	2 h 27	4 h 12	4 h 35	7 h 21	3 h 52
Nairobi – Dar es Salaam	923	55 min	1 h 32	2 h 38	2 h 53	4 h 37	3 h 17
Nairobi – Kampala	685	41 min	1 h 08	1 h 57	2 h 08	3 h 25	3 h 06
Lusaka – Johannesburg	1,674	1 h 40	2 h 47	4 h 47	5 h 14	8 h 22	3 h 55
Johannesburg – Cape Town	1,569	1 h 34	2 h 37	4 h 29	4 h 54	7 h 51	3 h 59
Johannesburg – Durban	610	37 min	1 h 01	1 h 45	1 h 54	3 h 03	3 h 05
Lagos – Abidjan	1,029	1 h 02	1 h 43	2 h 56	3 h 13	5 h 09	3 h 28
Lagos – Kano	1,020	1 h 01	1 h 42	2 h 55	3 h 11	5 h 06	3 h 29
Algiers – Lagos	4,626	4 h 38	7 h 43	13 h 13	14 h 27	23 h 08	6 h 27
Casablanca – Algiers	1,284	1 h 17	2 h 08	3 h 40	4 h 01	6 h 25	3 h 43
Dakar – Bamako	1,320	1 h 19	2 h 12	3 h 46	4 h 08	6 h 36	3 h 44
Casablanca – Dakar	3,081	3 h 05	5 h 08	8 h 48	9 h 38	15 h 24	5 h 14
Dakar – Abidjan	2,608	2 h 36	4 h 21	7 h 27	8 h 09	13 h 02	4 h 37
Conakry – Lagos	2,636	2 h 38	4 h 24	7 h 32	8 h 14	13 h 11	4 h 45
Mombasa – Dar es Salaam	388	23 min	39 min	1 h 06	1 h 13	1 h 56	2 h 52
Kinshasa – Lubumbashi	2,043	2 h 03	3 h 24	5 h 50	6 h 23	10 h 13	4 h 20
Luanda – Lusaka	2,948	2 h 57	4 h 55	8 h 25	9 h 13	14 h 44	4 h 36
Cairo – Nairobi	4,962	4 h 58	8 h 16	14 h 11	15 h 30	24 h 49	6 h 39
Cairo – Cape Town	10,912	10 h 55	18 h 11	31 h 11	34 h 06	2.3 days	11 h 01
Dakar – Djibouti	9,512	9 h 31	15 h 51	27 h 11	29 h 44	47 h 34	10 h 12

North and Central America

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
New York – Washington	395	24 min	40 min	1 h 08	1 h 14	1 h 59	2 h 53
New York – Chicago	1,607	1 h 36	2 h 41	4 h 36	5 h 01	8 h 02	3 h 51
Los Angeles – San Francisco	714	43 min	1 h 11	2 h 02	2 h 14	3 h 34	3 h 09
Los Angeles – New York	5,188	5 h 11	8 h 39	14 h 49	16 h 13	25 h 56	7 h 08
Chicago – Toronto	859	52 min	1 h 26	2 h 27	2 h 41	4 h 18	3 h 20
Toronto – Montreal	612	37 min	1 h 01	1 h 45	1 h 55	3 h 04	3 h 06
Vancouver – Seattle	234	14 min	23 min	40 min	44 min	1 h 10	2 h 44
Dallas – Houston	435	26 min	43 min	1 h 15	1 h 22	2 h 10	2 h 56
Miami – Atlanta	1,311	1 h 19	2 h 11	3 h 45	4 h 06	6 h 33	3 h 39
Los Angeles – Mexico City	3,156	3 h 09	5 h 16	9 h 01	9 h 52	15 h 47	5 h 26
Mexico City – Monterrey	968	58 min	1 h 37	2 h 46	3 h 01	4 h 50	3 h 20
Mexico City – Panama City	3,285	3 h 17	5 h 28	9 h 23	10 h 16	16 h 25	5 h 20

South America

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Bogotá – Medellín	286	17 min	29 min	49 min	54 min	1 h 26	2 h 47
Bogotá – Caracas	1,332	1 h 20	2 h 13	3 h 48	4 h 10	6 h 40	3 h 42
Bogotá – Quito	930	56 min	1 h 33	2 h 39	2 h 54	4 h 39	3 h 22
Lima – Bogotá	2,727	2 h 44	4 h 33	7 h 47	8 h 31	13 h 38	4 h 44
Lima – Santiago	3,296	3 h 18	5 h 30	9 h 25	10 h 18	16 h 29	5 h 24
Santiago – Buenos Aires	1,562	1 h 34	2 h 36	4 h 28	4 h 53	7 h 49	3 h 50
Buenos Aires – São Paulo	2,304	2 h 18	3 h 50	6 h 35	7 h 12	11 h 31	4 h 28
São Paulo – Rio de Janeiro	433	26 min	43 min	1 h 14	1 h 21	2 h 10	2 h 55
Rio de Janeiro – Salvador	1,503	1 h 30	2 h 30	4 h 18	4 h 42	7 h 31	3 h 55
São Paulo – Brasília	1,332	1 h 20	2 h 13	3 h 48	4 h 10	6 h 40	3 h 32
Lima – La Paz	1,407	1 h 24	2 h 21	4 h 01	4 h 24	7 h 02	3 h 46

Between continents

Route	Rail km built	Hyperloop 1,000 km/h	Maglev 600 km/h	HS freight design 350 km/h	HS freight in service 320 km/h	Freight 200 km/h	Air reference
Santiago – Singapore	34,847	34 h 51	2.4 days	4.1 days	4.5 days	7.3 days	21 h 48
New York – Beijing	17,610	17 h 37	29 h 21	2.1 days	2.3 days	3.7 days	15 h 26
Los Angeles – Tokyo	16,903	16 h 54	28 h 10	2.0 days	2.2 days	3.5 days	12 h 52
London – Beijing	11,099	11 h 06	18 h 30	31 h 43	34 h 41	2.3 days	12 h 05
London – Singapore	15,556	15 h 33	25 h 56	44 h 27	2.0 days	3.2 days	15 h 16
London – Delhi	9,443	9 h 27	15 h 44	26 h 59	29 h 31	47 h 13	10 h 24
Paris – Cairo	5,496	5 h 30	9 h 10	15 h 42	17 h 11	27 h 29	6 h 17
London – Cape Town	16,586	16 h 35	27 h 39	47 h 23	2.2 days	3.5 days	13 h 53
Madrid – Lagos	6,671	6 h 40	11 h 07	19 h 04	20 h 51	33 h 21	7 h 01
Beijing – Cairo	11,124	11 h 07	18 h 32	31 h 47	34 h 46	2.3 days	11 h 23
Mumbai – Nairobi	11,953	11 h 57	19 h 55	34 h 09	37 h 21	2.5 days	7 h 51
Moscow – New York	20,723	20 h 43	34 h 32	2.5 days	2.7 days	4.3 days	11 h 20
Buenos Aires – London	35,748	35 h 45	2.5 days	4.3 days	4.7 days	7.4 days	15 h 35

Travel times on the World Network.