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All countries would like to be able to move people about quickly, cleanly and (relatively) safely. Hence the attractions of high-speed rail. The downside is that it is very expensive to build, and there can be tough political decisions over where to run the track.

With those concerns in mind, it comes as no surprise that China is the country building the most, despite the recent fatal crash. But which other countries are investing in high-speed rail? Chart of the week finds out.

It’s been a bit of an on-off year for high-speed rail in China. First there was the crash in July that put expansion plans on hold, then the government announced in December it would push ahead with plans. But despite all this, China has by far the biggest high-speed rail network in the world, with 37 per cent of the total track.

And if we look at where high-speed rail is under construction, EMs count for over 60 per cent of the total track being built.

Of total planned high-speed rail lines, it’s about 50-50 between the developed and emerging world. However, given the debt crisis in Europe, it would hardly be a surprise if some of those projects were cancelled.

Of course, comparing high-speed rail roll-out between countries is a tricky business – needs vary according to population, geography and size. Belgium is never going to have more kilometers of high-speed rail than France, let alone China, for example. But bearing this in mind, the chart below shows the share of high-speed rail as current, under construction, and planned for key countries. Turkey is perhaps the biggest surprise, with 235km of high-speed rail in operation, another 510km in construction and over 1000km planned.

Source: International Union of Railways