When will we get on the high-speed maglev at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour?
Written by: reporter Jiao Yang Planning: Liu Li
High-speed maglev is an ultra-complex large-scale system engineering.
On July 20, 2021, the high-speed maglev transportation system with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour officially rolled off the production line in Qingdao.
According to the project promotion plan, it is urgent to build an engineering test line to complete the speed test and realize the engineering landing as soon as possible.
Guangdong, Zhejiang, Chengdu-Chongqing, Anhui... Where will my country's first high-speed maglev line go?
In April, the grass grows and the warbler flies.
On the commissioning line of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as CRRC Sifang), Ding Sansan, the chief technical engineer of the high-speed maglev project and the deputy chief engineer of CRRC Sifang, and the team members, according to the test plan, adjusted the speed per hour. The 600-kilometer high-speed maglev transportation system will carry out dynamic debugging and verification optimization of the whole system.
A 5-car marshalled maglev train started steadily on the debugging track, with a streamlined front and blue-gray body, full of technology.
The testers are going through a series of precise debugging to make the performance indicators of the entire magnetic suspension system reach the best state.
How is the promotion of the 600-kilometer maglev project?
When can we get on the 600 km/h maglev train?
An emerging mode of high-speed long-distance transportation
Since the Industrial Revolution, people's long-distance travel has gradually developed into wheel-rail railways, modern shipping, highways and aviation, and continues to this day.
Are there any new modes of transportation?
"Under the premise of safety, mankind's pursuit of transportation technology that trades speed for space will never end." said Jia Limin, head of the national key research and development plan "Advanced Rail Transit" key project general expert group and professor at Beijing Jiaotong University.
In 1922, German engineer Hermann Kempel was inspired by the principle that the great resistance of the train comes from the friction between the wheel and the wheel-rail, and thought: If the train is suspended on the track, wouldn't it run faster?
In 1934, Hermann obtained the world's first patent for magnetic levitation technology.
The basic principle of magnetic levitation is the electromagnetic levitation principle of "same-sex repulsion, opposite-sex attraction", which uses magnets to oppose the gravity of the earth to suspend the vehicle, and then uses electromagnetic force to guide and push the train forward.
"Since the 1960s, major developed countries such as Germany and Japan have carried out large-scale maglev transportation research, and the technical routes are constant conduction and superconductivity." Qian Qingquan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the former uses electromagnetic attraction, while the latter uses electric repulsion , the train is suspended on the track.
Germany has successively developed 9 generations of TR series maglev trains. In 1999, the TR08 train developed by it has completed the high-speed test at a speed of 450 kilometers per hour, reaching the level of engineering application.
At the beginning of the 21st century, China began to set its sights on this new mode of transportation.
On December 31, 2002, the Shanghai High-speed Maglev Demonstration Line, which was jointly constructed by China and Germany and was built using the constant-lead technology, was opened to traffic, with a total length of 30 kilometers, a maximum operating speed of 430 kilometers per hour and a maximum test speed of 501 kilometers per hour. operation.
This is also the world's first commercial maglev demonstration line.
"The train doesn't have wheels, but floats on the track. It's so magical!" The shock of riding this maglev line for the first time is still fresh in Shanghai citizen Xu Yan's memory.
"Based on this demonstration line, my country has carried out long-term independent innovation and technology accumulation of constant-guide technology, and has basically digested and absorbed the technical theoretical problems of constant-guide high-speed magnetic levitation." Qian Qingquan said.
Independent innovation starts immediately.
On October 21, 2016, the Ministry of Science and Technology launched the National Key R&D Program for Advanced Rail Transit Key Special Project - Key Technology Research Project of 600 km/h High-speed Maglev Transportation System.
The project has been approved with a central financial fund of 363 million yuan, with a total investment of more than 3 billion yuan.
"The project adopts a constant-lead technical route, aiming at the application of engineering and industrialization, and develops a high-speed maglev transportation system with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour with completely independent intellectual property rights. The project is led by CRRC Organization and CRRC Sifang, bringing together domestic maglev, high-speed rail The 'national team' in the field, more than 30 industry-leading universities, research institutes and enterprises' industry-university-research-use joint participation." Ding Sansan said.
At the same time, the maglev research in Germany and Japan is also accelerating.
"Japan set a world record of 603 kilometers per hour on the Yamanashi maglev test line in 2015, and plans to open the maglev central Shinkansen in 2027; Germany has completed the test of the new maglev train in 2009, with a maximum speed of 550 kilometers per hour." Qian Qingquan said .
As a master of high-precision and cutting-edge technologies, high-speed maglev is a complex super project that needs to cross a series of extremely difficult technical thresholds.
Only one suspension orientation requires breakthroughs in a large number of key core technologies.
The gap on the suspension track of the train needs to be stabilized at about 10 mm. For ultra-high-speed operation, the disturbance of factors such as air disturbance and line irregularity brings extremely severe challenges to the suspension guidance and other systems.
It will be an epoch-making innovation in rail transportation technology to allow a maglev train with a length of more than 130 meters, a weight of more than 300 tons, and a 5-section group to suspend on the track and "fly on the ground" at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour.
In order to make the train "float steadily", the R&D team carried out closed research.
For 13 months, the team members ate and lived on site, worked an average of 14 hours a day, conducted more than 4,000 tests before and after, and finally cleared the clouds and developed a completely autonomous high-precision, high-stability suspension guidance system.
To realize the engineering application of high-speed maglev at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour, it is necessary to challenge the high-speed operation of maglev across rivers and mountains, aerodynamic design, high-strength vehicle body, traction braking, low-latency communication, long-distance multi-zone multi-vehicle automatic tracking, parking at any point, reducing A series of technical problems such as vibration and noise reduction.
Take aerodynamic design as an example.
When the speed of the maglev train reaches 600 kilometers per hour, the aerodynamic pressure on the car body rises sharply, which is 10 times that of the current high-speed train with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
After 5 years, through more than 1,680 simulation calculations, more than 4,250 ground bench tests and more than 500 line tests, the R&D team has gnawed on "hard bones" one after another.
Plum blossom from the bitter cold.
An excellent answer sheet with international advanced level stood out.
The response time of the suspension system reaches the millisecond level, the gap fluctuation is controlled within the range of ±4 mm, the aerodynamic resistance is reduced by 17%, the aerodynamic noise is reduced by 4 decibels, the body strength is increased by 2 times, the centimeter-level high-precision parking, and the millisecond-level low-latency parking lot communication...
In 2018, the technical scheme of the 600 km/h high-speed maglev transportation system passed the expert review; in 2019, the test prototype was off the assembly line; in 2020, the test prototype successfully ran on the test line of Tongji University in Shanghai, completing 204 functional tests in 7 categories , safety, stability and other indicators meet the design requirements; in January 2021, a complete set of systems will be developed and joint debugging and testing will begin.
On July 20, 2021, the high-speed maglev transportation system with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour officially rolled off the production line in Qingdao.
"After nearly 20 years of continuous research and technology accumulation, my country has basically achieved the independent research and development capability of the entire high-speed maglev system, formed a complete set of engineering technologies, and achieved independent and controllable industrial supporting capabilities." Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China He Huawu, vice chairman of the Association for Science and Technology, said that my country's high-speed maglev has entered the high-speed line test stage from the research and development stage, and will gradually transition to the demonstration operation and industrialization development stage.
The new role of three-dimensional transportation and urban development
In the booming new round of technological revolution, high-speed magnetic levitation may play an important role.
This technology, which represents the highest level of rail transit construction in the world today, has entered the national development strategy.
In September 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Outline for Building a Powerful Transportation Country", proposing to "carry out the research and development of technical reserves for high-speed maglev systems with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour"; To "research and promote the layout of high-speed maglev channels between megacities and the construction of test lines".
"Since the Industrial Revolution, innovation has been the combination of transportation, communication, and energy. The first industrial revolution was the combination of trains, coal, and telegraphs; the second industrial revolution was the combination of automobiles, telephones, and oil; the third industrial revolution was the combination of airplanes. , high-speed rail and the traditional Internet." Zhang Guohua, chief engineer of China's urban center and president of the Land, Industry and Transportation Planning Institute, who participated in the "National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline" and related planning work, believes that this new revolution is based on mobile Internet. Represented by big data, cloud computing, 5G, and the combination of more efficient integrated transportation and the Internet represented by ultra-high-speed maglev.
On March 21, 2021, the Ministry of Transport issued the "Notice on the Release of the 2021 Transportation Strategic Planning Policy Project Plan", among which "planning to carry out the Beijing-Shanghai maglev high-speed railway engineering research" has attracted special attention.
"The high-speed maglev with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour can fill the speed gap between high-speed rail and air transportation, and form a more reasonable, efficient, flexible and convenient multi-dimensional transportation structure including the speed gradient of aviation, high-speed rail, high-speed maglev and urban transportation." Jia Limin said.
According to the "National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline", my country will build four major international integrated transportation hub clusters: the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle.
It covers about 20 international comprehensive transportation hub cities, 80 national comprehensive transportation hub cities and a large number of international hub ports and national hub ports.
"According to the actual travel time, within the range of 1,500 kilometers, high-speed maglev is the fastest mode of transportation, which can greatly shorten the travel time and reshape the concept of time and space." Ding Sansan said.
Taking Beijing to Shanghai as an example, it only takes about 3.5 hours to travel between the two places by taking a high-speed maglev train with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour, plus the travel preparation time.
Between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration "five poles" economic circle, within a range of 2,000 kilometers, accessible within 4 hours.
Running at a high speed of 600 kilometers per hour, how about the safety, energy consumption and comfort of maglev trains?
"The 'car-holding track' structure is used between the train and the track, and the maglev system does not have the problem of derailment." Jia Limin said, and the electromagnetic interaction of the maglev system determines that it is impossible to produce electromagnetic leakage that is harmful to people.
After rigorous testing and evaluation, it does not even produce as much radiation as a microwave oven.
Because there is no wheel-rail contact, when the maglev train runs at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour, the noise at 100 meters outside the vehicle meets the limit requirements of residential areas; the noise value inside the vehicle is equivalent to the noise in the middle of the passenger cabin when cruising.
Is the power consumption higher with electromagnetic levitation?
"On the contrary, the energy consumption of high-speed maglev is different from what most people think. Its overall system efficiency is comparable to that of high-speed rail, and the power consumption of the whole system is not high. It is a green and environmentally friendly means of transportation." said Le Jialing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, According to the calculations of relevant experts, at a speed of 350 kilometers, the high-speed maglev energy consumption per 100 kilometers per capita is 3.5 kWh, which is equivalent to the Fuxing high-speed rail.
When the high-speed maglev runs at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour, the energy consumption per 100 kilometers per capita is about half that of aviation.
The landing of engineering still needs a "step at the door"
High-speed maglev is an ultra-complex large-scale system engineering, which must follow the research and development process of "basic theoretical research, principle prototype development, system engineering technology research, engineering prototype development, circuit engineering test verification, demonstration application system assessment, and commercial operation promotion".
"According to the project promotion plan, it is urgent to build an engineering test line to complete the speed test." Ding Sansan said.
Can the existing Shanghai maglev line be used as a 600-kilometer maglev test line?
"This line has a short distance, only 30 kilometers, which cannot meet the test conditions of 600 kilometers per hour; second, the line has simple working conditions, no rivers and mountains, and is only point-to-point short-distance transportation." National Maglev Transportation Engineering Technology Research Center Huang Jingyu, deputy director and professor of Tongji University, explained.
"The core technologies such as traction operation and control used in the Shanghai line are not made in China, and the 600-kilometer maglev test line also needs to verify the traction power supply and operation control communication system independently developed by my country." Wu Guanghui, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, added.
In response to the large initial investment in the construction of the test line, Ding Sansan explained his point of view from a technical point of view.
"The initial investment of the suspension transportation system may be higher than that of the wheel-rail method, but the suspension transportation system has no contact, no friction, and no wear. It is a modular design and requires little maintenance itself, and the maintenance personnel required are only the wheel-rail method. About 1/10 of that.” Ding Sansan believes that the Shanghai maglev demonstration line has been running for 20 years and has not undergone a major overhaul so far.
From the perspective of the whole life cycle, the economy of high-speed maglev is very significant, and after the line is networked, the freight rate will also drop.
In fact, China's high-speed rail construction investment and financing model may provide a reference for the future development of high-speed maglev.
China's high-speed railway construction has gone through a financing stage from financial allocation, bank loans to investment diversification.
In the face of the strong stimulating effect of high-speed rail on the economy, the willingness of many parties to invest has gradually become stronger.
In July 2020, in order to accelerate the high-quality development of transportation infrastructure, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Supporting Private Enterprises to Participate in the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure".
On January 8, 2022, my country's first privately-held high-speed railway, the Hangzhou-Taiwan high-speed railway, opened to traffic.
This 269-kilometer-long high-speed rail project with a total investment of 44.9 billion yuan is privately held 51% of the shares. Its opening to traffic is considered a milestone event in China's railway reform.
Where will the first high-speed maglev line go?
In recent years, the state has successively released a number of major plans and drawn up a blueprint for development. The traffic layout in various places has been accelerated, and the emerging traffic mode - high-speed maglev has become a popular option.
In April 2018, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Hainan's Comprehensive Deepening of Reform and Opening-up", proposing to build a China (Hainan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Taking this advantage, Hainan Province quickly studied the necessity and feasibility of new rail transit from Haikou to Sanya, and the high-speed maglev train with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour was included in the alternative plan.
As China's earliest hot spot for reform and opening up, Nanyue seems to be making bigger strides.
Since the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan" on February 18, 2019, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has accelerated on the road of building a "Greater Bay Area on Track".
In February of that year, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Natural Resources announced the "Guangdong Territorial Space Planning" (2020-2035), in addition to the traditional subway and wheel-rail high-speed rail, it was proposed for the first time to reserve the construction of the Shanghai (Shenzhen)-Guangzhou high-speed maglev channel.
In fact, the planning and construction of maglev transportation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has already begun.
"The Chinese Academy of Engineering, as the lead organization, is carrying out major research projects such as "Strategy Research on Pipe (Tunnel) Maglev Transportation Development" and "Pre-Feasibility Study of High-speed Maglev Railway in the Greater Bay Area", and is conducting research on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area-Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Corridor. Build the first section of the high-speed maglev railway and carry out a pre-feasibility study of the project." He Huawu revealed.
As the regions with the strongest economy in China, Shanghai and Hangzhou are even better at chasing new technologies.
In December 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Outline for the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta Region", in which the transportation project part stated that "the Yangtze River Delta will actively and prudently carry out the planning and research of the Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev project".
Immediately afterwards, Zhejiang Province officially announced on April 17, 2021 that it will build a maglev hyperloop between Shanghai and Hangzhou.
With the release of the "National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline", the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, which is located in the inland, is listed as the "four poles" together with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for the first time.
Speed up the construction of traffic between the two places and become a well-deserved engine.
In 2019, Chengdu issued the "Comprehensive Traffic Plan for Eastern New City", proposing to reserve a 600-800 km/h ultra-high-speed maglev construction channel for Chengdu and Chongqing.
In addition to the above popular areas, Anhui Province, which has tasted the strong pull of high-speed rail, has also set its sights on high-speed maglev.
The G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor is a regional development belt formed by nine cities including Shanghai, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Jinhua, Suzhou, Huzhou, Xuancheng, Wuhu and Hefei.
In April 2021, Anhui Province issued the "Anhui Province Implementation Plan for the Implementation of a Higher-Quality Integrated Development Plan for Transportation in the Yangtze River Delta", and proposed to study the high-speed maglev transportation system of the G60 Science and Technology Corridor to achieve 1-hour access within the interval.
The plan gives a specific timetable for the construction of high-speed maglev, which is planned to be implemented during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.
In the face of active planning across the country, where will the first line land?
Jia Limin believes that although various places are actively planning the layout, to achieve the real implementation of high-speed maglev at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour, the introduction of specific route planning at the national level may be the most important.
Planning a suitable test line as soon as possible to carry out speed-up and operation experiments will help make the high-speed maglev enter the commercial operation stage as soon as possible.