Central China’s Hunan Province starts to build an inter-city maglev rail line

People look at a high-speed maglev train model on display at the fourth World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, Nov. 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

Construction began on Monday for a 48.73-kilometer-long maglev rail line connecting Changsha and Liuyang cities in Hunan Province, marking China's first trans-city maglev express rail transportation.

According to a statement released by the local government, the designed speed of the line is 160 kilometers per hour, and construction of the project will be conducted in phases.

After completion, the new line will run in connection with the existing Changsha Maglev Express Line, linking two transportation hubs of the Changsha Huanghua International Airport and the Changsha South Railway Station, the Changsha city said.

The first phase will span 39.52 kilometers and involve a total investment of 10.44 billion yuan ($1.45 billion). Sinohydro Engineering Bureau 8 Co, a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China said that it will undertake the construction of the project's first phase.

Changsha city currently operates the Changsha Maglev Express Line. According to the local government, the line has operated safely for over eight years, completing more than 436,000 train trips.

The 18.55-kilometer-long Changsha Maglev Express Line connects the Changsha South Railway Station with the Changsha Huanghua International Airport.

The line is China's first commercially operated maglev line with independent intellectual property rights. It boasts the world's longest maglev line in commercial operation for middle-to-low-speed magnetic-levitation train, and the world's first middle-to-low-speed maglev line operates commercially running at a speed of 140 kilometers per hour.