CRRC 600 km/h maglev
China's high-speed maglev is a direct descendant of the German Transrapid, designed for 600 km/h. It has been unveiled and shown to the world, but it has not yet run at full speed and has no confirmed route.
Transrapid technology, taken further
At its core, the CRRC train is a Transrapid developed for higher speed.
The 600 km/h maglev was developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, leading a group of more than 30 companies, universities and research institutes. It uses electromagnetic suspension: magnets on the vehicle are pulled up toward the underside of the guideway, and a long-stator linear motor in the guideway drives the train.
The technical basis is the Transrapid. CRRC continues to develop the technology under licence from ThyssenKrupp, and core components were validated at up to 430 km/h on the Transrapid line in Shanghai.
Fact sheet
- Developer
- CRRC Qingdao Sifang and partners
- Principle
- Electromagnetic suspension (EMS), long-stator linear motor
- Design speed
- 600 km/h
- Tested speed
- Not yet tested at full speed; components validated up to 430 km/h
- Test track
- Tongji University, Shanghai (about 1.5 km)
- Commercial line
- None confirmed
- Status
- Prototype
From prototype to showcase
- 2020
First test runs
A prototype section runs on Tongji University's test line in Shanghai.
- 2021
Production-standard train unveiled
The first 600 km/h production-standard train rolls out in Qingdao.
- 2023
Request for tests in Shanghai
CRRC's chairman asks for permission to run night-time tests below 500 km/h on the Shanghai maglev line.
- 2025
Shown at the UIC World Congress
The train is exhibited in Beijing next to the CR450 high-speed train. CRRC says it will undergo several years of testing before commercial service, and that new maglev test tracks are being built.
- 2026
Part of the national plan
China's National Railway Administration lists 600 km/h maglev test validation in its technology plan for 2026 to 2030. That is a testing goal, not a commitment to build a line.
Corridors, but no project
Since 2021, several corridors have been mentioned, for example in Guangdong toward Hong Kong and between Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. So far these are land-use reservations and studies, not approved projects. A test line of around 200 km proposed in 2019 was never built, and a Hong Kong network by 2030, floated by officials in 2021, has not materialized.
The biggest open question is a long enough test track. Without one, no train can show what it does near 600 km/h.
Strengths and challenges
Sources
- CRRC unveils its 600 km/h high-speed maglev train
- CRRC showcases 600 km/h maglev at Beijing exhibition
- National Railway Administration technology plan
- Maglev review chapter
- China on the way to its dream of high-speed maglev
- CRRC Maglev
- List of maglev train proposals
- Debunking the myth of China's 600 km/h maglev