What speed did a CRH380A train reach in 2010 testing?

A CRH380A train reached 486.1 km/h during testing in 2010.

The record was set on December 3, 2010, by the 16-car CRH380AL variant, trainset CRH380A-6041L, during trials on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway. Although the question says CRH380A broadly, the recorded train was specifically the longer articulated variant in the CRH380A family.

That figure was a test speed, not a normal passenger-service speed. The CRH380A family was designed for operation around 380 km/h, while commercial operating limits were lower and depended on the train and period. Testing allowed engineers to assess performance well beyond routine service conditions.

Another commonly confused figure is 416.6 km/h, reached by an eight-car CRH380A set during testing in September 2010. The 486.1 km/h result came later from the 16-car CRH380AL, making the stored answer the accepted family-level answer.