China’s High-Speed Maglev Test Line to Complete in 2021
A high-speed maglev test line in Qingdao, with a length of no less than 5 kilometres, is expected to be completed by 2021. Shandong province in East China plans to construct a high-speed maglev system that runs from Jinan, the province’s capital city to Qingdao, which is the first operation line based on this project. The project will be led by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd. in Shandong province, one of the three subsidiary bullet-train makers.
CRRC will also develop maglev trains with speeds of up to 200 km/h at CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co in Hunan province. Investment in these projects will reach 3.22 billion yuan ($476 million; 437 million euros). The government will allocate 433 million yuan, with the remainder to be raised by CRRC.
Sun Bangcheng, deputy director of CRRC’s office for major project development said:
“The goal for these two projects is to establish domestic technology and standard systems for new-generation medium- and high-speed maglev transportation that can be applied globally.”
Compared with other types of urban rail transportation, Sun says maglev trains are quiet and can achieve high speeds because they don’t actually ride on rails with wheels but hover centimetres above the track through the use of magnets, avoiding friction.
“Such trains will consume 10 percent less energy than the country’s 350 km/h bullet trains currently in use.”
China has seen rapid development of its high-speed railways in recent years, with their total length exceeding 20,000 km, the world’s longest high-speed rail network.
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