A prototype high-speed maglev train with a top speed of 600 kilometers (km) per hour rolled off the assembly line in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province on Thursday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The completion of the maglev train at 10:50 am Thursday marked a major breakthrough by China in the field of high-speed maglev technology, the one-paragraph-long Xinhua report said.

China has been pursuing maglev technology since the first decade of this century and is a leading country in terms of maglev mileage.

A maglev line has linked Shanghai's Pudong airport with the city center since 2006 on a 30-kilometer-long track, using German technology. The service, with a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour, had safely transported a total of 50 million passengers by September 2017. 

Zhuzhou in Central China's Hunan Province and Beijing each have a section of low-speed maglev lines in service.

The prototype high-speed train will be a vital part in mastering the design, manufacturing, testing and evaluation process for obtaining proprietary maglev technology, according to influential social media outlet tieluguancha.

High-speed maglev trains will ideally fit into the modern travel pattern in China, which is dominated by high-speed trains running at 350 km per hour and jet planes travelling at 800 km per hour, the report said.

The maglev trains would offer the fastest way of traveling a distance of 1,500 kilometers, the outlet reported, citing an expert. 

Global Times