A meglev train undergoes test run in the city of Tangshan in 2009. (file photo)

China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) has started a special project to research high-speed railcars that can reach speeds up to 600 km/h, Sun Bangcheng, deputy director of CRRC Industrial Research Institute, said on Aug. 31.

The project is one of 18 national key research and development plans started by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2016. It will research both high-speed passenger and freight trains, Sun said. With a total investment of over 9 billion yuan, the project will be completed by 2021.

The project includes 3 kinds of freight trains, a high-speed train, and 2 maglev trains, according to CRRC. “Freight trains with speeds of 250 km/h can transport seafood from Haikou in China’s southern province of Hainan to Beijing in less than one day,” a project officer of CRRC said.

The two maglev trains can reach 600 and 200 km/h, respectively. The cost of a 600 km/h maglev train is almost the same as a 400 km/h high-speed train, according to the research. The first domestically made high-speed maglev train will roll off the production line in east China’s Shandong province next year, according to report.