China has begun a trial run of its first magnetic levitation train, completely designed and built by local firms, marking a major leap in the technological capability of the country’s rail transport sector, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The so-called maglev, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h, began ferrying passengers on the 18.5-km-long line in the southern city of Changsha on Friday, Xinhua said, adding that the project cost 4.3 billion yuan (HK$5.1 billion).

The train works by floating on a magnetic field along a guideway, which allows for higher speeds and reduces friction. “China has become one of the few nations to have mastered this technology,” Xinhua said.

China is pushing its high-tech equipment firms to create home-grown brands as part of its “Made in China 2025” national plan, to move the economy away from the low-value manufacturing model that fuelled its economy’s meteoric rise.

Shanghai’s maglev passenger traffic lower than expected

The country already has the only commercial maglev in operation in the world, which was developed and built by the government and a German consortium, including the industrial giant Siemens in Shanghai in 2003.