CASIC said the results surpassed the previous known record set by a superconducting maglev vehicle – 623km/hr (387mph) under non-vacuum conditions, as reported in October 2023.

A month earlier, a similar test of high-temperature superconducting maglev technology achieved 234km/hr (145mph) on a 380 metre (1,250ft) track.

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The high-speed flier project integrates aerospace and terrestrial rail transport technologies, with a designed speed of up to 1,000km/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, northern China, 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 millimetre-level precision required for the concrete surfaces supporting the equipment. Variation in the flatness of the track could not exceed 0.3mm, according to CASIC’s website.

Several integrations and safety checks are also necessary when the train transitions from levitation to motion, highlighting the significance of the test line’s first phase completion.

The main body of the first phase features a platform with an upper and lower structure in an “n” and “u” shape, respectively. This supports “nu” shaped tubular beams, each nearly 6 metres (20ft) in diameter and 21 metres (69ft) long.

The tubes have a geometric size error of less than 2 millimetres (0.1 inch) and must be capable of maintaining a vacuum state for extended periods, presenting significant challenges in fabrication and installation.

With no domestic precedents for the high-speed flier, many construction details could not be fully represented in drawings, CASIC said. Instead, they had to be summarised and confirmed through practice before being validated in the engineering project.

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“Science and technology progress 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.

According to the China National Space Administration, the same CASIC department is also working on the country’s next generation commercial aerospace electromagnetic launch systems.