China unveils 600 kph maglev train
- China unveiled a homegrown magnetic levitation train capable of reaching 600 kph, the fastest train ever built by the country.
- The new train's speed approaches the 603 kph world record set by a Japanese maglev built by Central Japan Railway
- This may lead to ushering in an intense competition for technical supremacy in the high-speed train market.
Maglev
- Maglev stands for ‘magnetic levitation’
- The system involves use of superconducting magnets to literally lift the train in the air, thereby removing the friction that a conventional train generates as the wheels move on the rails.
- The magnetic field that lifts it off the ground also propels it forward.
- Maglev train primarily relies on three types of loops:
- One creates a field that makes the train hover about 5 inches above the guideway;
- Second keeps the train stable horizontally.
- Third set of loops is a propulsion system run by alternating current power. Here, both magnetic attraction and repulsion are used to move the train car along the guideway.
- Only three countries currently operate Maglev train fleets — China, Japan and South Korea.
China’s Maglev Prototype
- The development of China's maglev, which comes in sets of five cars, began in 2016, with a successful trial run in June 2020.
- It has been developed by CRRC Corporation Limited, Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer.
- CRRC is the world's largest supplier of rail transit equipment with the most complete product lines.
- The train can make the trip from Beijing to Shanghai in three and a half hours, including wait times, according to a 2019 estimate.
- That cuts about two hours from the time needed for a conventional bullet train to travel the same distance.
- Japan's maglev is also under development by JR Central.
- The train attained the record 603 kph during a test run in 2015.
- JR Central is building a maglev line connecting Tokyo and Nagoya on which the train will run at a maximum operating speed of 500 kph.