World's first 160 km/h monorail maglev train makes its debut in Chengdu (12)

A visitor experiences a ride in the train cockpit at the 2021 China International Industry Fair held in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Hong)

The world's first monorail maglev train with a designed speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour was officially unveiled on April 22 at the 2021 China International Industry Fair (CIIF) held in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan province.

The new train applies the latest available rail transit technologies, such as cutting-edge self-driving technology, obstacle detection, 5G communication networks, and a train control system based on Ethernet, according to the Chengdu branch of CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd., the developer of the train.

Compared to existing urban rail transit vehicles, the new train boasts better performance in terms of maximum speeds, acceleration capacity, traction efficiency, turning radius, and energy consumption. It also features lower costs, less noise, and reduced vibration, and offers a safer and more comfortable travelling experience for passengers.

Visitors can have their photos taken with the intelligent train, experience a driving simulation, and visit the train’s cockpit at the CIIF.

At the fair, some 70 well-known enterprises in the rail transit industry demonstrated the sector’s latest development trends and their own advanced manufacturing technologies, having done so through a variety of means, including displaying prototypes and simulating production lines.

Covering a total area of 50,000 square meters, this year's fair attracted a total of 600 high-quality manufacturers along with their key products and solutions in the intelligent manufacturing industry chain, an event that will surely spark a new round of development in the industrial production capacity of west China.