China to develop test 'maglev' train by 2010

Beijing, Feb 11: China will develop its own magnetically levitated trains that can travel at speeds of up to 500 kilometres per hour, Xinhua news agency said today citing a government report.

A 30-kilometre-long test line will be built before 2010, said the report from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

So-called ''maglev'' trains are listed in the ''national scientific and technological support projects'' of the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010) that aims to ''solve crucial science and technology problems that hamper China's economic and social development'', Xinhua cited Wang Xiaofang, director of the ministry's planning bureau, as saying.

China already has the only maglev in operation in the world.

Launched in 2003 using German technology, it floats for 30 kilometres on a magnetic cushion between the booming coastal city of Shanghai and its international airport in Pudong.

German industrial giant Siemens, which helped develop maglev technology, and steelmaker ThyssenKrupp A G lead a consortium that is negotiating to extend the track by 160 kilometres to the city of Hangzhou.

Reuters>