{"product_id":"fast-track-9780241775516","title":"Fast Track","description":"\u003cb\u003ePre-order this global history of high speed rail, from the railways' \"wisest, most detailed historian\" (\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Observer)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The greatest expert on British trains' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The high priest of railway studies' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eLITERARY REVIEW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Our most eminent transport journalist'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'If you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleek, comfortable, accessible, and sustainable, high-speed rail is the future. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSince \u003cb\u003eJapan's Bullet Train\u003c\/b\u003e first sped down the track in the sixties, it has become a global icon, as famous for its punctuality as for its speed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe French TGV\u003c\/b\u003e, or Train à Grande Vitesse, established a template that was soon followed across Europe, in Italy, Germany and Spain \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut with a remarkable \u003cb\u003e30,000 miles of track built in fewer than twenty years China \u003c\/b\u003ehas become the world leader. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNow with lines built or planned in over twenty countries, \u003cb\u003ehigh speed rail has changed the world\u003c\/b\u003e and, faced with the environmental cost of cars and air travel, might help save it. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwo countries, both pioneers of rail travel, have been conspicuously left behind, though. The UK, which before the Second World War built record-breaking high-speed trains, has just sixty-eight miles of high-speed line and the \u003cb\u003eunfolding embarrassment of HS2\u003c\/b\u003e, while the United States has no genuine high-speed line at all. How can this be? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eFast Track\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003cb\u003eChristian Wolmar, our leading railway writer\u003c\/b\u003e, tells the story of the irresistible rise of high-speed rail around the world for the first time. \u003cb\u003e From the magnificence of Britain's steam-engined \u003ci\u003eMallard\u003c\/i\u003e to a 250 mile per hour future\u003c\/b\u003e, this is a story of big personalities, bold decisions, cutting edge technology, and soaring ambition. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll aboard!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael Joseph\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/25\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780241775516\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs","brand":"Christian Wolmar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52933810290869,"sku":"9780241775516","price":47.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/fast-track-9780241775516","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}