China's domestically-developed maglev train hits breakthrough speeds

The mid-to-low speed maglev train developed by researchers from Southwest Jiaotong University and Changzhou Institute. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi.com]

A mid-to-low speed maglev train developed in China has made a breakthrough in reaching 140 kilometers per hour, Xinhua reports.

The train is being jointly developed by researchers from Southwest Jiaotong University and Changzhou Institute with an overall funding of 10 million yuan (1.6 million U.S. dollars).

With an average speed of 140 kilometers per hour, the self-developed maglev train has surpassed Japan's record holding speed of 110 kilometers among mid-low speed carriages.

Next month, the train will travel to Shanghai for vehicle testing.

Different from the current maglev trains in service in Beijing and Shanghai, whose core technologies are from Japan, the new indigenous maglev train's intellectual property rights are maintained in China.

After a year of trial operation, the train is expected to be built in various places around the mainland, including Jinan and Shandong.