China chases 373mph ‘flying train' that would make HS2 obsolete

Telegraph

6 days ago

Chinese plans to develop a 600kmph (375mph) 'flying train' are threatening to make Britain's HS2 line obsolete before it even opens.
State-owned CRRC showed off a prototype magnetic levitation, or 'maglev', train in Beijing last week in a sign of its increasing confidence in the technology.
Unlike normal trains, which rarely exceed 200mph, maglevs hover millimetres above their guideways, eliminating friction and allowing them to travel at far greater speeds.
The lack of wear and tear means maintenance costs are also far lower, while their electric motors are emissions-free and the absence of wheels produces far less noise.
Only seven maglev services are operational, mostly on low-speed airport links, but CRRC is thought to be targeting the first ultra-high-speed services in as little as five years. Top speeds could reach above 300mph.
More conservative estimates envisage that the Chinese train or a competing model under development in Japan will enter service in the middle of the next decade – just as HS2, which is slated to run at 225mph, is scheduled to open for business in Britain.
Johannes Kluehspies, president of the International Maglev Board, an association of engineers and scientists specialising in the technology, says a long-range maglev would make conventional bullet trains, including HS2, redundant.
He said: 'Maglev is the future. If the Chinese or Japanese succeed and start operations – which I'm confident they will – it will be the end of high speed rail everywhere in the world.'
The leading railcar from the Chinese prototype went on display at the 17th Modern Railways exhibition in Beijing, where CRRC senior engineer Shao Nan said the train would create a new travel niche between the fastest trains and jet aircraft over distances of up to 1,300 miles.
Journey times between Beijing and Shanghai would be cut from four and a half hours by high-speed train today to just two and a half hours on the maglev, which has been named the CRRC 600 to reflect its top speed in kilometres per hour.
In Europe, the same 750-mile range would take the train from Rome to Berlin, or London to Marseille, while London to Glasgow could be achieved in one and a half hours, and the capital could be connected with Birmingham in less than 25 minutes, compared with 50 minutes on HS2.
UK to prioritise HS2
Jeremy Acklam, transport expert at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, was a one-time maglev sceptic, but says he has come round to the potential of the technology.
He says: 'The science behind it has matured with the arrival of a second generation of supercooled magnets that dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed.
'We've also got national governments that are willing to invest very significant amounts, with Japan and China clearly intent on becoming the world's exporters of this technology.'
Britain could be a potential market once costs come down, though the experience of HS2 – almost a decade late and with costs now expected to top £100bn – means it is unlikely to be an early adopter, Mr Acklam believes.
'We're more likely to back the technology when we know it works. So it could be that after the implementation of a line in Japan, for instance, something may be proposed.
'The question is whether London to Edinburgh, say, would provide enough traffic, because a maglev can't run onto the existing rail network to top up passenger numbers, unlike conventional high speed trains.'
In other words, while projects like HS2 involve laying new tracks, the trains can still run on existing infrastructure. Maglev on the other hand, can only operate on its specialist line, meaning demand must be sufficient to justify the investment.
Maglev construction costs are generally greater than for a high speed railway. However, Prof Kluehspies says the lines, built on elevated concrete piers, are comparatively cheaper when crossing hilly terrain as they do not require as many tunnels and embankments.
That could mean a maglev would cost less than HS2, which will feature 65 miles of tunnels, equivalent to 46pc of its length, plus 110 embankments, 70 cuttings and 50 viaducts.
Tech born in Britain
Britain, ironically, played a key role in the early development of maglev technology after the Second World War and until as recently as the 1980s appeared primed to lead the world in the technology.
Magnetic levitation as a form of transport was first proposed by American rocket pioneer Robert Goddard in 1909. But it was British electrical engineer Eric Laithwaite who developed the linear motor that is key to maglev propulsion, culminating in his discovery in the 1970s of an arrangement of magnets that would produce both lift and forward thrust.
Britain launched the world's first commercial service – called Maglev – in 1984 along 2,000 feet of track between Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International station. The service ran at 26mph and closed in 1995 after struggling with reliability issues.
The UK came close to getting a far more ambitious maglev network in the form of UK Ultraspeed, which proposed linking London with Glasgow at speeds of up to 310mph via stops including Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
German maglev pioneer Transrapid backed the plan and Tony Blair signalled his support in 2006 after the Commons all-party rail group visited the firm's then recently opened Shanghai system, which to this day is the world's fastest commercially operating train at 268mph.
However, just months later, a Transrapid maglev crashed into a maintenance vehicle on its German test track, killing 23 people and undermining enthusiasm for the technology.
After claims that Ultraspeed would cost three times as much per mile as France's expanding TGV network, the government distanced itself from the project and committed itself to HS2 instead.
Transrapid itself shut down from 2010, though its maglev system was taken up by China, leading to claims from Germany that Beijing had stolen the technology. Officials said that engineers had merely 'absorbed' learnings from the Shanghai trains.
While China and Japan are now locked in a competition to deliver the first ultra high speed maglev, the way forward remains complicated.
The Japanese project, led by JR Central, aims to link Tokyo with Osaka in just over an hour, down from at least two and a half hours to cover the more than 300 mile distance on the latest Shinkansen bullet train.
A Japanese maglev established the world rail speed record in 2015 when it hit 375mph on a test track, beating the 357mph set by a modified TGV in France eight years earlier.
However, the 9tn yen (£45bn) system, which would operate at 310mph in commercial service, has nevertheless encountered major hurdles while tunnelling through mountains to central Japan.
Work was halted in 2020 amid concerns about the impact on the local water table. The planned opening time has slipped from 2029 to 2034.
China, meanwhile, remains uncertain about which of two competing maglev technologies it should pursue, Prof Kluehspies says.
Electromagnetic suspension technology, used on the Shanghai maglev, relies on attractive magnetic forces to lift the train above its guideway. Constant power is required to maintain levitation but the infrastructure is simpler.
Electrodynamic suspension, the method favoured in Japan, instead uses repulsive superconducting magnets cooled to cryogenic temperatures to lift the train off the track when it is travelling at speeds above about 60mph. The maglev needs rubber wheels at low speeds, but is more stable at higher ones.
The situation is complicated by the involvement of the Chinese military, which is keen to explore the use of maglev technology to launch missiles from submarines.
At higher speeds, air resistance becomes an issue for all trains, with the latest maglev designs deploying a sharp 'beak' modelled on a kingfisher's bill to slice through the air.
In the longer term, maglevs could use a system similar to the Hyperloop proposed by Elon Musk and operate in a tube with reduced air pressure to minimise drag.
Whatever technology the Chinese settle on, it seems certain to leave HS2 in the dust.
'The model of maglev doesn't really matter,' Prof Kluehspies says. 'It's superior technology and it will win. The sooner it comes the better for future generations.'