China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), a major Chinese aerospace defense contractor, claims to have set a speed record with its superconducting maglev “high-speed flier”, paving the way for its revolutionary ultra-fast hyperloop train. While the exact speed reached remains classified, the Third Academy under the company said it had made “a significant breakthrough” with its latest test. According to CASIC, it was the first time the maglev achieved stable levitation while traveling in a low-vacuum tube, using the full-scale 2 km test line that was completed in November. CASIC said the results surpassed the previous known record set by a superconducting maglev vehicle at 623 km/hr under non-vacuum conditions, as reported in October 2023. A month earlier, a similar test of high-temperature superconducting maglev technology achieved a speed of 234 km/hr on a 380 meter track. The high-speed flier project integrates aerospace and terrestrial rail technologies, with a designed speed of up to 1,000 km/hr – surpassing commercial aviation speeds.
The superconducting maglev technology “levitates” the train to eliminate friction as it travels through the specially designed low-vacuum tube. The near-vacuum conditions reduce air resistance, achieving “near-ground flight” at ultra-high speeds. According to CASIC, the test not only set a speed record for the system, it also validated several key technologies and proved that they work well together. The test line, in Datong, Shanxi province, is the longest and biggest of its kind and represents China’s first full-scale testing facility for an ultra-high-speed low-vacuum tube maglev transport system. Construction officially began in April 2022, led by CASIC’s magnetic levitation and electromagnetic propulsion technology department, which was established in January 2018. Accuracy was critical – with millimeter-level precision required for the concrete surfaces supporting the equipment. Variation in the flatness of the track could not exceed 0.3 mm, according to CASIC’s website.
“Science and technology progresses step by step, and some aspects of this project are still in uncharted territory in China. Every step is challenging, and it’s a complex system,” said the project’s Chief Designer Mao Kai, in an interview with Zhejiang Daily. According to official reports, the test proved that the vehicle tube and track interact well, keeping the heavy maglev vehicles floating steadily. The powerful movement systems and overall safety controls also functioned as expected. These advances had improved the overall technical maturity of the system, laying a solid technical foundation for future higher-speed tests and the construction of a national level transport network, CASIC said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
