By wisdomcare on April 29, 2006
The newly-developed light maglev train "Zhonghua-06" based on the technology of suspended rail made debut in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province on May 11.
This system, called Zhonghua-06, is being developed at the Dalian Magnetism Valley Science and Technology Institute in Dalian, China. It was tested initially on May 11, 2005 on a 70 meter guideway. It is a suspended system and the version shown can carry 10 passengers. The vehicle is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide and 1.87 meters high. Li Lingqum, the Chief Scientist and President of Magnetism Valley is directing this development effort. It is claimed that is will cost far less than current Japanese and German maglev systems, require far less electrical energy to operate and generate little noise.
The train is a significant project of which China has the indigenous intellectual property.
The cost for a two-way line is about RMB 80 million RMB per kilometer, only 28 percent of the currently world advanced technologies.
Moreover, the train features high degree of safety. Derailment and overturn can be avoided as the train is set in suspended track.
With a designed speed of 400 kilometers per hour, the train is an inter-city vehicle dedicated to economic zones in large and medium-sized cities.
© Shanghaixp.com