The maximum speed will make the train which is
self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, the
fastest ground vehicle globally.
The maglev train, with the use of electro-magnetic force, levitates above the track with no contact between the body and the rail.
China has been using the technology of electro-magnetic
force for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai, in China, has a
short maglev line that runs from one of its airports to town.
While there are no inter-province or inter-city maglev lines
yet in China that can make good use of the higher speeds, some cities including
Chengdu and Shanghai have already started to conduct research to expand it.
Key details:
• At 600 kph, the maglev train in China will take only 2.5
hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai by train. It is a journey of more than
1,000 kms (620 miles).
• In comparison, the journey will be of 3 hours by plane and 5.5 hours by high-speed rail.
Countries from Germany to Japan have also been looking to
build Maglev networks, however, the incompatibility and the high costs involved
in the construction of the high-speed train with the current track
infrastructure remain hurdles to the rapid development of the network.