China has unveiled a super-fast bullet train prototype that engineers say will reach 385 miles per hour.
Named the ‘super bullet maglev train’, the model cut off the production line and started at a ceremony in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Wednesday.
It boasts more than twice the speed of the Eurostar fleet and could cover the distance from London to Paris in 47 minutes with the fastest speed.
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A prototype of a high-temperature high-altitude maglev train, known as the ‘super bullet maglev train’, is pictured at its inaugural event in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday
The model is a 21-meter (69-foot-long) locomotive designed to travel at a top speed of 620 kilometers (385 miles) per hour. Developed exclusively by Chinese experts
The train is the first of its kind in the world and was designed and manufactured exclusively by Chinese experts, according to its co-developer, Southwest Jiaotong University.
The university partnered with two state-run companies, China Railway Group and CRRC Corporation, to develop the prototype into a 60million yuan (£ 6.8million) transportation innovation program, Xinhua News Agency said .
The prototype is home to a 21-meter (69-foot-long) locomotive designed to travel at a top speed of 620 kilometers (385 miles) per hour.
It uses high-temperature superconducting maglev (HTS) technology, different from the low-temperature technology that Germany and Japan use in their maglev trains, according to experts from Southwest Jiaotong University.
The team argues that the Chinese version is lighter with a simpler structure. It is also cheaper to manufacture and operate.
The engineers believe that HTS technology is more suitable for the future ’empty transport’, which would see ultra-fast maglev trains descend in empty tubes in distances greater than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). per hour.
‘HTS technology can make the train sail without electricity, and it can be moved with just one hand,’ Deng Zigang, a professor from the university, told Xinhua.
Photos and pictures released by Chinese media shows the silver-and-black carbon-fiber locomotive pulling into its display at Southwest Jiaotong University.
The university also launched an experimental railroad on Wednesday. The line, which is 541 feet (165 meters) long, will be used to test prototype and related technologies.
The prototype uses high-temperature superconducting maglev (HTS) technology, different from the low-temperature technology used in German and Japanese-made maglev trains.
Engineers believe HTS technology is more suitable for the ’empty transport’, which could cause maglev trains to descend in empty tubs at more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) per hour
China has the largest high-speed rail network in the world, measuring a staggering 35,000 kilometers (21,747 miles) from 2019.
Currently, the country’s high-speed passenger trains operate at a top speed of 350 kilometers (217 miles) per hour. Residents can travel between Beijing and Shanghai, the country’s political and financial centers, in 4.5 hours.
China also has the world’s first commercial maglev system.
The 18.6-mile (30-kilometer) stretch, opened in 2002 in Shanghai, connects Shanghai Pudong Airport and the city center and reportedly cost more than £ 1billion to build.
Southwest Jiaotong University launched an experimental railroad track at a reception Wednesday. The line, which is 541 feet (165 meters) long, will be used to test the prototype
The train is being jointly developed by Southwest Jiaotong University, China Railway Group and CRRC Corporation in a 60million Yuan (£ 6.8million) transport innovation program
The Shanghai maglev was developed jointly by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development and a German consortium comprising Siemens AG, Thyssen Transrapid GMBH and Transrapid International GMBH.
It is the fastest commercial rail system in the world, with vehicles running up to 431 kilometers (267 miles) per hour.
Japan has built the fastest train in the world to date, but it has not yet been put to commercial use.
The maglev train, operated by Japan Railways Group, set a world record after reaching an experimental route of 603 kilometers (374 miles) per hour in 2016.
More than two-thirds of the world’s high-speed rail is in China
Passengers board the ‘Fuxing’ high-speed bullet train on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line before leaving Cangnan railway station on November 20, 2017
China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, measuring a staggering 35,000 kilometers (21,747 miles) from 2019, according to Central China Television Station.
Distance is more than two-thirds of the world’s total.
The country’s total rail coverage is 139,000 kilometers (86,370 miles), enough to cover the Earth three times with the equator.
China is investing heavily in the construction of its rail system.
They plan to spend 2.8 trillion yuan (£ 307 billion) building 23,000 kilometers (14,291 miles) of new railways between 2016 and 2020, according to a government plan.
Xinhua News Agency said Beijing completed its largest-ever investment in rail construction between 2013 and 2017.
Nearly 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) of trails, more than half of which were high-speed rail, were completed at a total cost of 3.9 trillion yuan (£ 428 billion).
The latest high-speed train model in the country is ‘Fuxing’, or ‘Renewable’, which runs at a speed of 350 kilometers (217 miles) per hour.
The model before ‘Fuxing’ is called ‘Hexie’, meaning harmony.