China’s 600 km/h “Floating Train” Is One Step Closer to Reality
- Admin
- Oct 28, 2019
- 2 min read
10/25
In 2021, with 600 km/h at 30,000 kilometers, China is going to boast the world's most extensive high-speed rail network.
China always aims to take the lead in the global race to make bullet train travel faster and faster. In 2020, a new floating bullet train is scheduled to set for the first test run, and is promised to launch in the following year. The new prototype of maglev train is able to hit speed from current 350 km/h to between 600 and 1000 km/h, which means a 2,200-km trip from Wuhan to Guangzhou could be reduced reduced from 4 hours to about two hours.
In May, in Shandong province, state-owned rail company China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) unveiled the prototype for its new high-speed magnetic-levitation (maglev) train which is said to speed up to 600 km per hour. With a promised launch date of 2021, the company hopes the new trains will bridge the gap between high-speed rail and air transportation, revolutionizing how people travel throughout China in the process. Some of the features and things to know about the new Maglev Train are: It will complete some trips faster than a plane, floats on air, relatively short three years in the making, and it’s the world’s fastest train (RobbReport).
Maglev trains use magnetic repulsion both to levitate the train up from the ground, which reduces friction, and to propel it forward. Literally, this means that it rides along on a cushion of air. This is thought to change the way of traveling in China since it may take less hours than airport and high-speed rail. Take Beijing to Shanghai as an example -- counting preparation time for the journey, it takes about 4.5 hours by plane, about 5.5 hours by high-speed rail, and would only take about 3.5 hours with the new high-speed maglev," said CRRC deputy chief engineer Ding Sansan, head of the train's research and development team (CNN).
As the demand for high speed intercity travel is rising, it is believed that business travellers will choose to hop on maglev train instead of plane if they would like to travel from one major city to another within an hour. Some experts predict: if maglev railways can be built along trunk routes like those linking Beijing and Shanghai and Beijing and Guangzhou, Chinese airlines may start to lose passengers, who may be attracted by the speed and novelty of maglev trains, and what’s more, the convenience of not having to go through airport check-in and security check.
Nonetheless, some experts say the electromagnetic fields from maglevs are greater than those conventional high-speed trains, and the health impact on passengers or residents was not fully known (Asia Times). Anyway, maglev technology has been developed in China, and as the future of train transportation, the new 600 km/h maglev train is ready on service in 2021.
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