The world's first high-speed maglev transportation system running at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour makes its public debut in Qingdao, Shandong Province today.
As the fastest ground vehicle available so far, the system, self-developed by China, is a cutting-edge scientific and technological achievement in the field of rail transit in the world, said China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Qingdao Sifang Co., LTD., an industrialization base for manufacturing high-speed trains in China.
The high speed maglev train will be suspended, driven and guided without contact between the train and the track by means of electromagnetic force, with its resistance only coming from the air, said Liang Jianying, deputy general manager and chief engineer of CRRC Sifang.
As a new mode of high-speed traffic, the train is safe, reliable and has low noise pollution, small vibration, large passenger capacity and needs less maintenance, he said, saying that it can fill the speed gap between high-speed rail, whose maximum operating speed is 350 km/h, and aircraft, whose cruising speed is 800 to 900 km/h.
The maglev train is the fastest mode of transportation within the 1,500 km range in terms of actual travel time. A journey from Beijing to Shanghai takes about 2 hours by air, 5.5 hours by high-speed rail, and will only be about 2.5 hours by high-speed maglev train, taking journey preparation time into consideration.
The 600 km/h maglev transportation system will also help consolidate China's leading position in high-speed railway technology, Lu said, adding that China, along with Germany, Japan, the UK, Canada and the US, are the main countries that are engaged in the development of maglev trains.
