CHANGSHA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- China's first medium-and-low speed magnetic levitation (maglev) line, which is fully supported by its homegrown technology, marks the fourth anniversary of commercial operation on Wednesday.
As of Tuesday, the maglev line in the city of Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, had an operation mileage of 3.8 million km, with a daily maximum passenger flow exceeding 16,000, according to Hunan Maglev Transportation Development Co., Ltd.
The 18.55-km Changsha maglev line, linking the Changsha Huanghua Airport with the city's south railway station, inaugurated the commercial operation of the first generation train, which ran at a top speed of 100 kph, in May 2016.
The 2.0 version of the maglev train, with a design speed of 160 kph, was developed in June 2018 by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. and passed a medium-speed test lasting for 10 months on April 28, a major step before it begins formal operations.
The new model is suitable for use between central and satellite cities while the old one is suitable for operation within a city.
CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive is also accelerating the development of a more advanced maglev model with a top speed of 200 kph for intercity travel.