China Sets World Record in Superconducting Maglev Speed Test

China successfully ran a one-ton vehicle at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour in just two seconds on a 400-meter test track, creating a new world record for a superconducting electric maglev system.

• Researchers from China’s National University of Defense Technology successfully ran a one-ton vehicle at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour in just two seconds on a 400-meter test track, creating a new world record for a superconducting electric maglev system.
• This achievement could revolutionize various modes of transportation, from hyperloop systems to aerospace launches. The same team had earlier achieved a speed of 648 km/h on the same track in January.
• Their ten years of research has placed China at the forefront of global maglev technology, marking a significant advancement since it developed its first manned maglev train thirty years ago.

High-speed maglev train

• Professor Li Jie, who led Beijing’s first commercial maglev subway line, believes that this achievement will accelerate the development of ultra-high-speed maglev transport in China.
• In 2020, CRRC Qingdao Sifang tested a prototype with a speed of 600 km/h. Meanwhile, Southwest Jiaotong University developed a high-temperature superconducting maglev system in Chengdu for speeds exceeding 600 km/h.
• The latest development includes a collaboration between the Third Research Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and North University of China. They have built a 2-kilometer experimental line in Datong to test maglev trains in low-vacuum pipelines, with the ultimate goal of achieving speeds of 1,000 km/h.

India

• Maharashtra has signed an agreement with an IIT Madras start-up (Tutr Hyperloop Private Limited) for the construction of a hyperloop.
• It will connect Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai with the proposed Vadhavan Port in Palghar district. This is a proposed Linear Induction Motor (LIM)-based hyperloop mobility system.

Magnetic Levitation Technology

• German engineer Hermann Kemper is generally regarded as the inventor of the basic magnetic levitation (maglev) concept, who received a patent in 1934 for a wheel-less “monorail vehicle”.
• Other major contributors include Emile Bachelet (1912 patent), Eric Laithwaite (the “father of maglev” for linear motors), and James Powell (superconducting magnets).
• The first commercial maglev train, based on Laithwaite’s work, began operation in Birmingham, UK, in 1984.
• In 2013, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk proposed the concept of an ultra-high-speed rail (UHSR) called Hyperloop and made it open-source.
• It is essentially a magnetic levitation (maglev) system, in which pods travel at ultra-high speed through low-pressure tubes.
• It uses electromagnetic forces to lift vehicles above the track, eliminating wheel-rail contact. Speed is achieved through controlled magnetic fields instead of conventional engines.
• It works on the principles of ‘magnetic attraction’ (Attraction) and ‘repulsion’ (Repulsion), using superconducting magnets to lift and propel the train forward.