Suspended, Lightweight, Maglev Aerotrain Under Development in Dalian, China
This system, called Zhonghua-06, is being developed at the Dalian Magnetism Valley Science and Technology Institute in Dalian, China. It was tested initially on May 11, 2005 on a 70 meter guideway. It is a suspended system and the version shown can carry 10 passengers. The vehicle is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide and 1.87 meters high. Li Lingqum, the Chief Scientist and President of Magnetism Valley is directing this development effort. It is claimed that is will cost far less than current Japanese and German maglev systems, require far less electrical energy to operate and generate little noise. Experts at Beijing University of Industry and Tsinghua University have suggested that a pilot route be built as soon as possible to continue and extend the testing of this system. It has some similarities with the Unimodal maglev system being developed in the USA.
Last modified: May 12, 2005