China Unveils World's First 600kph High-Speed Maglev Train

Chinese State Media announced on July 20, 2021, that China has unveiled a maglev train which is capable of a top speed of 600 kmph.

The maximum speed will make the train which is self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, the fastest ground vehicle globally.

The maglev train, with the use of electro-magnetic force, levitates above the track with no contact between the body and the rail.

China has been using the technology of electro-magnetic force for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai, in China, has a short maglev line that runs from one of its airports to town.

While there are no inter-province or inter-city maglev lines yet in China that can make good use of the higher speeds, some cities including Chengdu and Shanghai have already started to conduct research to expand it.

Key details:

• At 600 kph, the maglev train in China will take only 2.5 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai by train. It is a journey of more than 1,000 kms (620 miles).

• In comparison, the journey will be of 3 hours by plane and 5.5 hours by high-speed rail.

Countries from Germany to Japan have also been looking to build Maglev networks, however, the incompatibility and the high costs involved in the construction of the high-speed train with the current track infrastructure remain hurdles to the rapid development of the network.

July 20, 2021