Photo: Screenshot from a report by CCTV News

Recently, during a maglev experiment conducted by the maglev team of China's National University of Defense Technology, a ton-class test vehicle was successfully accelerated to 700 kilometers per hour within just two seconds, state broadcaster CCTV News reported on Thursday. 

This speed broke the global record for the same type of platform, making it the fastest superconducting electromagnetic maglev testing speed in the world, the report said.
 
Over the course of 10 years of dedicated research and development, the maglev team achieved a maximum test speed of 700 kilometers per hour for a ton-class payload on a 400-meter maglev test line, followed by a safe stop. 

The breakthrough addressed major technical challenges such as ultra-high-speed electromagnetic propulsion, electric levitation guidance, transient high-power energy storage inversion, and high-field superconducting magnets. 

The successful test marks China's entry into the internationally leading ranking in developing ultra-high-speed maglev systems, providing a new option for the future development of vacuum tube maglev transportation, which also will offer new methods and approaches for aerospace-assisted launch and experimental testing, the CCTV News report said.

The subsequent technological iterations and industrial applications of this achievement will inject new momentum into China's aerospace and rail transit, according to the report. 

Global Times