China joins the world's most exclusive ITS technology club

China has joined the only two countries in the world – Germany and Japan - to have developed maglev (magnetic levitation) high-speed rail technology.
January 31, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
China has joined the only two countries in the world – Germany and Japan - to have developed maglev (magnetic levitation) high-speed rail technology. On 7 April, 2010, 1890 Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Company, a subsidiary of the 1891 Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), formally handed over to 762 Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Company (SMTDS) the Chinese-developed maglev train which has a design speed of 500km/h (310mph), and is expected to be put into service during Shanghai Expo in May.

Since 2004, SMTDS has operated the world’s first commercial high-speed maglev line, using trains and technology supplied by 765 Transrapid International, the German partnership of 189 Siemens/1894 ThyssenKrupp. That service, with an operating speed of 430km/h (267mph), travels on a 30km-long double-track, connecting Long Yang Road Station in Shanghai to Pudong International Airport. The journey time is just under eight minutes. Three Transrapid vehicles, each with five sections, make up the maglev fleet. In taking the decision to establish the world’s first commercial maglev service, from the outset the Chinese took a wider view of the project than meeting Shanghai’s transport needs; they saw it as an important demonstration project and proving ground for new 21st century transportation technologies.

After six years of 24/7 commercial operation in Shanghai, and just before the new home-grown maglev train was revealed, there were reports from China in late March that a policy decision to substantially extend the Shanghai service had been taken. Work will begin this year on a maglev line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province. Journey time for the 200km (124 mile) maglev link will be just half an hour. The new line will incorporate a downtown section of about 34km which will connect the city's two international airports, Pudong and Hongqiao.

Related Content

  • Caltrans takes the long view of transport
    October 21, 2016
    Caltrans’ Malcolm Dougherty took time out of his schedule at ITS America 2016 in San Jose to talk to ITS International about current and future challenges. As director of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) since mid-2012, many would say that Malcolm Dougherty has one of the best jobs in transportation. Caltrans is one of the most progressive and innovative transport authorities, implementing policies to encourage cycling, piloting new
    Read More
  • Emissions reductions targets to have major impact on transport
    October 28, 2015
    As bold moves aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in California, David Crawford looks at the ramifications for transportation. California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent dramatic raising of the bar on emissions reduction policy for the state has won him praise from Japan, Australia, Europe and the secretariat of the critical UN conference on climate change being held in Paris in November/December 2015. His April 2015 executive order aimed at bringing emissions to 40% below 1990 lev
    Read More
  • Moscow is world’s most gridlocked city, says Inrix
    February 21, 2019
    Moscow is the most gridlocked city in the world, according to a survey of snarl-ups by Inrix. The company’s annual Global Traffic Scorecard found that road users in the Russian capital lost 210 hours last year because of congestion. Inrix weights the data for population, and found that the next four cities on the congestion roll-call were Istanbul, Turkey; Bogota, Colombia; Mexico City; and São Paulo, Brazil. Brazil had another entry on this unwanted list, with Rio de Janeiro in seventh place. Russ
    Read More
  • Home based real time travel information drives reduction in car use
    January 20, 2012
    David Crawford investigates a new approach to discouraging car use - the 'kitchen as travel centre'. ITS technology working together with UK planning legislation is driving an innovative 'kitchen as travel centre' approach to home design which is boosting public transport as an alternative to car use. The combination is already proving powerful enough to assuage environmentalist opposition to major urban developments. It is also being seen as a way of delivering wider social and community benefits inside an
    Read More

Highlighted Content