Wuhan's maglev research program achieves 600km/h milestone

A research program dedicated to developing the technology required to construct a high-speed EMS (electromagnetic suspension) maglev transportation system with a maximum speed of 600 kilometers per hour is completed in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A research program dedicated to developing the technology required to construct a high-speed electromagnetic suspension (EMS) maglev transportation system with a maximum speed of 600 kilometers per hour was recently completed in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.

China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co Ltd led the four-year program in cooperation with more than 10 institutions, including Southwest Jiaotong University, Central South University, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co Ltd and Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co Ltd.

The team conducted a systematic and comprehensive study of 28 sub-projects in seven areas, with the construction of the high-speed EMS maglev long-distance trunk railway line as the application scenario, said the researchers.

The research covered eight key areas, including bridge and tunnel construction that meets high-speed and high-precision requirements, traction power supply control, and equipment installation and maintenance.

The research results have been partially applied to the CRRC Qingdao Sifang high-speed maglev experimental center and a low-vacuum pipeline polymorphic coupling test platform in Chengdu, the researchers said.

Zeng Min, deputy chief engineer of the Bridge Design and Research Institute of China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co Ltd, said that CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd has built a test prototype of a high-speed maglev train with a maximum speed of 600 km per hour, and all the basic research work has been completed.

Construction of the 600 km-per-hour high-speed maglev railway can be carried out once a test line system is validated, he said.