A high-speed maglev train project featuring trains that are capable of traveling at 600-1,000 kilometers per hour is expected to break ground in Hubei next year, Wuhan Evening News reported last week. Upon completion, the journey from Guangzhou to Wuhan by train would be shortened to about two hours, according to the report.
The high-speed maglev train system is designed, and will be built, by China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., which is based in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province. Jing Shiyuan, an engineer with the state-run company told the Wuhan newspaper that the project was initiated in 2015 and a train model was readied for testing the following year.
The super high-speed train travel is made possible through high temperature superconductors, a maglev transportation technology. Jing said that such technology will enable maglev trains to reach 1,000 kilometers per hour.
We call shotgun! Screengrab via QQ
Currently, riding the high-speed train from Wuhan to Guangzhou takes about four and a half hours. Riding the future maglev train, however, will reduce travel time between the two cities by more than half.
The railway engineer also mentioned that study of a maglev train route between Hangzhou and Jinhua in Zhejiang province is underway.
The first maglev train in China started operation in Shanghai back in 2002. Purchased from Germany, the Shanghai Maglev Train runs from downtown Lujiazui to Shanghai Pudong Airport. The 30-kilometer journey takes less than eight minutes. The first China-made maglev train route opened in Hunan’s capital city, Changsha, in May 2016.
READ MORE: Direct High-Speed Train Service Launched Between Tianjin and Hong Kong
[Cover image via QQ]
0 User Comments