China is researching and developing a new type of magnetic levitation train that could majorly outpace all other maglev trains.
CRRC Corp Ltd., the largest rail transportation equipment manufacturer in China, plans to build the fastest maglev train in the world. It will be able to travel at speeds of up to almost 400 mph, reports the China Daily. At that speed, the train would be faster than anything else currently in operation.
Maglev trains are propelled by magnetic fields created by electric coils, rather than traditional fossil fuels.
Japan tested a maglev train with similar speeds last year, but it has not yet introduced this type of train commercially due to concerns over infrastructure construction costs. China is home to the world’s fastest maglev train, the Shanghai Maglev, which has a top speed of about 280 mph and is the first commercially-operated high-speed maglev train.
China introduced its first independently-produced maglev train in May, but it is slow and runs at speeds around 60 mph.
Eager to improve its domestic maglev trains, China expressed an interest last month in creating a train that could hit speeds of around 300 mph. Now, it wants trains that can go even faster. Trains with the ability to move at speeds of around 400 mph could carry passengers between Beijing and Shanghai — cities separated by about 800 miles — in just two hours, explains CCTV.
At the moment, it takes five hours to travel between Shanghai and Beijing, reports the Shanghaiist.
China leads the world in high-speed rail development. Right now, the country already has more than 12,500 miles of high-speed track, giving China the world’s largest high-speed rail network. China aims to expand that network to around 18,500 miles by 2020 and 28,000 miles by 2030.
CRRC did not reveal when it intends to introduce its new maglev trains.
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