{"product_id":"fast-track-hardcover","title":"Fast Track - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eChristian Wolmar\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe 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\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleek, comfortable, accessible, and sustainable, high-speed rail is the future. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut with a remarkable \u003cb\u003e30,000 miles of track built in fewer than twenty years China \u003c\/b\u003ehas become the world leader.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll aboard!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledged as one of the UK's leading commentators on transport matters, \u003cb\u003e Christian Wolmar\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning writer and broadcaster specializing in transport, and the author of a series of books on railway history. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, regularly appears on TV and radio, and writes for a wide variety of publications including \u003ci\u003eThe Times, The Guardian, The Oldie, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003ePublic Finance\u003c\/i\u003e. His books include \u003ci\u003eThe Great British Railway Disaster\u003c\/i\u003e (1997), \u003ci\u003eStagecoach \u003c\/i\u003e(1999), \u003ci\u003eDown the Tube\u003c\/i\u003e (2002), \u003ci\u003eThe Subterranean Railway\u003c\/i\u003e (2004), \u003ci\u003eBroken Rails\u003c\/i\u003e (2001, updated 2005), \u003ci\u003eOn the Wrong Line\u003c\/i\u003e (2005), \u003ci\u003eFire and Steam\u003c\/i\u003e (2009), \u003ci\u003e Blood, Iron and Gold \u003c\/i\u003e(2009), \u003ci\u003e Engines of War \u003c\/i\u003e(2010), \u003ci\u003eThe Great Railway Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e (2013), and\u003ci\u003e Railways and The Raj \u003c\/i\u003e(2017). He has been described as \"our most eminent transport journalist\" by\u003ci\u003e The Spectator \u003c\/i\u003eand \"the greatest expert on British trains\" by \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 400\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 25, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48529445290205,"sku":"9780241775516","price":72.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/V6um6ABZal9780241775516.webp?v=1788944277","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/fast-track-hardcover","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}