Abstract: To solve the problem of actuator failure of high-speed trains, an adaptive fault-tolerant control scheme is presented. First, a nonlinear uncertain dynamic model for high-speed trains under normal operating state is built, and corresponding model with actuator failure is analyzed. Then, to realize fault-tolerant control, a module using high-speed train model based state observer for fault detection and isolation is designed. The adaptation law can be reconfigured according to the output of fault detection and isolation based on train operating state, which forms a new framework of adaptive fault-tolerant control via selection of different tuning function β_. The stability of the fault-tolerant control system of high-speed trains is proved theoretically. Numerical simulations of a train model verify the effectiveness of the presented scheme.