A new method of estimating wave speed in a pipe is proposed. A continuity equation of pipe flow can be arranged so that wave speed is included in a coefficient that relates the differentiation of pressure with respect to time and the differentiation of flow rate with respect to distance along the pipe axis. The differentiation signals are calculated from pressure signals using a simulation model of pipeline dynamics, that is an optimized finite element model. Bootstrap algorithms are applied to estimate wave speed included in the coefficient. Simulation and experiments are carried out to demonstrate the estimation method.