Hong Kong is part of national plan for high-speed maglev train network, transport ministry says

‘We will introduce the high-speed maglev train to Hong Kong as soon as possible so [the city] can ride on the express train of the mainland’s development,” vice-minister Wang Zhiqing says

But train capable of top speed of 600km/h still in development, ministry’s top engineer says

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People visit a prototype of China’s new superfast maglev train in Chengdu in January. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:32pm, 24 Mar 2021Updated: 12:31pm, 20 Jul 2021

Hong Kong will be included in the central government’s plans for an intercity rail network using maglev trains, a senior transport ministry official said on Wednesday.

“We will introduce the high-speed maglev train to Hong Kong as soon as possible so that the city can ride on the express train of the mainland’s development,” vice-minister Wang Zhiqing said.

China opened its first home-grown maglev line in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, in 2016 but has never had a train capable of running fast enough to exploit its potential.

But that could be about to change as the transport ministry has approved further tests of a new train it hopes will be able to reach a top speed of 600km/h (373mph).

“I really hope the test will be successful,” Wang said.

Wang Yang, the transport ministry’s chief engineer, said engineers were working on improvements to the new high-speed maglev train, after a prototype successfully completed a test run in June last year.

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