China has announced its new rail construction program. The government plans to build 200,000 km of rail by 2035, about 70,000 of which will be high-speed rail. All cities with a population of 200,000 or more will be connected by rail, and all cities with 500,000 people or more will be connected by high-speed rail. China is also working on the next generation maglev train that could travel at speeds of 600 kph.
“The development of high-speed maglev can help China seize the leading rail transit technology and maintain the country’s advantage in the field of high-speed rail,” said Wu Donghua, deputy chief engineer from CRRC Qingdao Sifang, which built the prototypes. “The maglev train is currently the fastest available ground public transport vehicle … the 600 kph maglev train would fill a gap between high-speed rail and airplanes.”
