China unveils world's first suspended maglev 'sky train'; see pictures

China has launched a ‘sky train’ called the Red Rail built with permanent magnets that can keep it afloat forever even without a power supply.

According to local media reports, it is the world’s first suspended maglev train (magnetic levitation train) line.

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“The maglev train is composed of two cars, with a passenger capacity of 32 seats and a capacity of 88 people. The maximum design running speed is 80 km/h. The test line is known as the ‘red track’ because it is located in Xingguo County, ‘Jiangjun County’, an old revolutionary area. ‘Red Rail’ is the first domestic permanent magnet maglev rail transit system engineering test line built so far. The completion of the test line marks the birth of a safe, convenient and efficient new standard rail transit system with medium and low speed and medium and low volume,” according to Xingguo County government.

The 800-metre (2,600-foot) experimental Red Rail in southern China’s Xingguo county, Jiangxi province, used powerful magnets rich in rare earth elements to produce a constantly repelling force strong enough to lift a train with 88 passengers in the air, State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

Unlike most existing maglev lines, the suspended rail operates about 10 metres above the ground. There is no physical contact with the rail as the train moves underneath the rail at a speed of 80km/h (50mph). An arm from the train surrounds the rail and permanent magnets in both the arm and the rail repel each other, suspending the train, a report in South China Morning Post said.

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With free-floating conditions and an absence of friction, only a small amount of electricity is needed to propel the train, according to the researchers at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, the report added.

The new maglev technology generated little electromagnetic radiation, and its construction cost was about a 10th of that to build a subway, they said.

Local transport authorities said that after some test runs, the line would increase to 7.5 km, and its top operational speed would reach 120 km/h. Many Chinese cities are building or planning maglev lines. Some trains can go as fast as 600 km/h, the report said.