China unveils ‘world’s fastest’ high-speed train capable of travelling more than 370 miles per hour 

China has unveiled what it hopes to be the fastest train in the world with a top speed of more than 370 miles per hour. 

The new train, self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, uses maglev technology which allows it to travel so quickly. 

Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train ‘levitates’ above the tracks with no contact between body and rail.

The train, capable of travelling at 372 mph (600kph), would be able to travel from London to Paris in 34 minutes, compared to the Eurostar fleet’s two hours and 16 minutes. 

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The new train, self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, uses maglev technology which allows it to travel so quickly

Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train 'levitates' above the tracks with no contact between body and rail

Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train ‘levitates’ above the tracks with no contact between body and rail

Today, the blue and black locomotive travelled out of the manufacturing building of the state-owned CRRC Qingdao Sifang, China's official train builder, in Qingdao

Today, the blue and black locomotive travelled out of the manufacturing building of the state-owned CRRC Qingdao Sifang, China’s official train builder, in Qingdao

What are ‘maglev’ trains?

Maglev trains use magnets to lift the carriages above the track.

This eliminates the need for wheels and, therefore, any incidence of friction, providing faster and quieter service.

Acceleration and deceleration far exceed that of conventional trains.

And maglev also makes for much smoother journeys.

Right now speeds are limited at up to 400 kilometres (250 miles) per hour due to the excessive air resistance encountered at these speeds.

But vacuum tube designs could allow them to travel over seven times faster in the future.

Today, the blue and black locomotive travelled out of the manufacturing building of the state-owned CRRC Qingdao Sifang, China’s official train builder, in Qingdao.   

‘Welcome to the high-speed maglev train that runs at 600kph,’ read a digital screen inside the train, according to video by Xinhua news agency. 

The train will be put into service in between five to 10 years, Liang Jianying, CRRC Qingdao Sifang’s deputy general manager and chief engineer, told China Central Television. 

The locomotive can travel with two to 10 carriages, each holding more than 100 passengers, Ding Sansan, chief engineer of the project told Xinhua News agency.  

China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai has a short maglev line running from one of its airports to town.

While there are no inter-city or inter-province maglev lines yet in China that could make good use of the higher speeds, some cities including Shanghai and Chengdu have started to conduct research.

At 372 mph, the train would only take 2.5 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai by train – a journey of more than 1,000 km (620 miles).

By comparison, the journey would take 3 hours by plane and 5.5 hours by high-speed rail. 

The train, capable of travelling at 372 mph (600kph), would be able to travel from London to Paris in 34 minutes, compared to the Eurostar fleet's two hours and 16 minutes

The train, capable of travelling at 372 mph (600kph), would be able to travel from London to Paris in 34 minutes, compared to the Eurostar fleet’s two hours and 16 minutes

The train will be put into service in between five to 10 years, Liang Jianying, CRRC Qingdao Sifang's deputy general manager and chief engineer, told China Central Television

The train will be put into service in between five to 10 years, Liang Jianying, CRRC Qingdao Sifang’s deputy general manager and chief engineer, told China Central Television

The unveiling comes after China revealed a prototype of a super-fast bullet train that engineers claim could reach 385 miles per hour. 

Dubbed as the ‘super bullet maglev train’, the model rolled off the production line and made its debut at a ceremony in the south-western city of Chengdu in January. 

Southwest Jiaotong University collaborated with two state-run companies, China Railway Group and CRRC Corporation, to develop the prototype in a 60million yuan (£6.8million) transport innovation programme, reported Xinhua News Agency

The homemade prototype is a 21-meter-long (69-foot-long) locomotive designed to travel at a top speed of 620 kilometres (385 miles) per hour. 

It uses high-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev technology, different from the low-temperature technology employed by Germany and Japan in their maglev trains, according to experts from Southwest Jiaotong University.

A prototype of a high-temperature superconducting maglev train, dubbed as the 'super bullet maglev train', is pictured at its debut ceremony in China's Southwest Jiaotong University on Wednesday

A prototype of a high-temperature superconducting maglev train, dubbed as the ‘super bullet maglev train’, is pictured at its introduction ceremony in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday

The model is a 21-meter-long (69-foot-long) locomotive designed to travel at a top speed of 620 kilometres (385 miles) per hour. It has been developed solely by Chinese experts

The model is a 21-meter-long (69-foot-long) locomotive designed to travel at a top speed of 620 kilometres (385 miles) per hour. It has been developed solely by Chinese experts

The team claims that the Chinese version is more lightweight with a simpler structure. It is also cheaper to manufacture and operate. 

The engineers consider the HTS technology more suitable for the futuristic ‘vacuum transportation’, which could see ultra-high-speed maglev trains zipping in vacuum tubes in speeds over 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) per hour.

‘The HTS technology can make the train float without electricity, and it can be moved with just one hand,’ Deng Zigang, a professor from the university, told Xinhua.

Pictures and footage released by Chinese media outlets show the silver-and-black carbon-fibre locomotive pulling into its presentation at Southwest Jiaotong University.

The university also launched an experimental railway track on Wednesday. The line, measuring 541 feet (165 metres) long, will be used to test the prototype and related technologies.

China has the world’s largest high-speed railway network, which measures a staggering 35,000 kilometres (21,747 miles) as of 2019

At present, the country’s high-speed passenger trains operate at a maximum speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) per hour. Residents can travel between Beijing and Shanghai, the nation’s political and financial centres, in 4.5 hours.

The prototype uses high-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev technology, different from the low-temperature technology used in maglev trains made by Germany and Japan

The prototype uses high-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev technology, different from the low-temperature technology used in maglev trains made by Germany and Japan

Southwest Jiaotong University also launched an experimental railway track on January 13. The line, measuring 541 feet (165 metres) long, will be used to test the prototype

Engineers consider the HTS technology more suitable for the ‘vacuum transportation’, which could see maglev trains zipping in vacuum tubes at over 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) per hour

Southwest Jiaotong University also launched an experimental railway track at the Wednesday ceremony. The line, measuring 541 feet (165 metres) long, will be used to test the prototype

Southwest Jiaotong University also launched an experimental railway track at the Wednesday ceremony. The line, measuring 541 feet (165 metres) long, will be used to test the prototype

China also has the world’s first commercial maglev system.

The 18.6-mile (30-kilometre) stretch, opened in 2002 in Shanghai, connects Shanghai Pudong Airport and the city centre and reportedly cost more than £1billion to build. 

The Shanghai maglev was jointly developed by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development and a German consortium consisting of Siemens AG, Thyssen Transrapid GMBH and Transrapid International GMBH.

It is the world’s fastest commercial train system, with carriages running up to 431 kilometres (267 miles) per hour.

Japan built the fastest-ever train in the world to date, but has yet to put it into commercial use.

The maglev train, operated by Japan Railways Group, set the world record after reaching 603 kilometres (374 miles) per hour on an experimental track in 2016.

Countries from Japan to Germany are also looking to build maglev networks, although high costs and incompatibility with current track infrastructure remain hurdles to rapid development.   

China has more than two-thirds of the world’s high-speed railways

Passengers board a 'Fuxing' high-speed bullet train on Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line before it leaves the Cangnan railway station on November 20, 2017

Passengers board a ‘Fuxing’ high-speed bullet train on Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line before it leaves the Cangnan railway station on November 20, 2017 

China has the world’s largest high-speed railway network, which measures a staggering 35,000 kilometres (21,747 miles) as of 2019, according to China Central Television Station.

The distance is more than two-thirds of the world’s total.

The country’s total railway coverage is 139,000 kilometres (86,370 miles), enough to wrap the Earth three times by the equator.

China is investing heavily in the construction of its rail system. 

It plans to spend no less than 2.8 trillion yuan (£307 billion) building no less than 23,000 kilometres (14,291 miles) of new railways between 2016 and 2020, according to a government plan

Xinhua News Agency reported that Beijing completed its largest-ever investment in railway construction between 2013 and 2017.

Nearly 30,000 kilometres (18,641 miles) of tracks, more than half of which are high-speed rail, were complete at a total cost of 3.9 trillion yuan (£428 billion). 

The country’s newest high-speed train model is ‘Fuxing’, or ‘Rejuvenation’, which runs at a speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour.

The model before ‘Fuxing’ is called ‘Hexie’, meaning harmony.