According to a report published in the South China Morning Post, it appears that the transportation industry has reached a historic turning point. China has begun testing its first suspended magnetic train (maglev). This is a vehicle called the Sky Train, which flies under the rails without touching them, and, moreover, consumes very little energy.

Sky Train

Railway Supply magazine writes about this with reference to RaillyNews.

On the 800 meter long test track, the train moves through very powerful rare earth magnets. The train, which seats 88 passengers and typically travels at 80 kilometers per hour, can reach a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

According to researchers from the Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, responsible for the design, this train consumes extremely little electricity. The cost of construction is said to be one-tenth that of a subway car. This, no doubt, whets the appetite of all municipalities that want to have cheap and energy efficient vehicles.

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In fact, China is investing heavily in the technology of maglev trains, which can travel at speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour without touching the rails. However, these are vehicles that consume a lot of energy, unlike the Sky Train. On the other hand, it should be emphasized that the spread of this new technology creates very serious opportunities for China, which has rich reserves of rare metals. 80% of the rare metal deposits used in the global production of magnets are controlled by China. Scientists have been working on this project since the early 2000s. However, the development of artificial intelligence in recent years has allowed researchers to make very important advances in this area.

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