X2 Train

X2, also called X 2000, is Sweden’s first high-speed rail system opened in 1990 as a first-class only train with a meal and free use of the train’s fax machine included in the ticket price.

These trains are capable of reaching speeds of up to 210 kilometres-per-hour, but the X2 never goes that fast, as the winding routes of Sweden’s railways limit top speeds. The trains were designed to tilt as they rounded turns using modern welding techniques, however, so they can still reach speeds of up to 204 kilometres-per-hour.

The X2’s innovative and practical design led to it being temporarily exhibited on rail lines in the United States, Australia and China, where an earthquake in the Sichuan province destroyed one of the trains in 2008.

The X2 proved to Swedes that rail is a viable solution not just in exotic, densely populated foreign countries Like Japan and Taiwan, but also at home in the north. This photo was taken from the Bistro Car on a journey from Copenhagen, Denmark to Goteborg, Sweden.