CHINA: Trial running has started on the 18·5 km ‘medium-speed’ maglev line linking Changsha Nan station with the city's Huanghua Airport.
Operated by Hunan Maglev Transport Co, the line has been designed for a maximum speed of 120 km/h, although the normal running speed is limited to 100 km/h.
Interchange is provided at Changsha Nan with the national rail network and Line 2 of the Changsha Metro. At present there is one intermediate station at Langlizhen, although two further stations are to be added in the future.
Construction of the maglev line began in May 2014, and the guideway was completed in mid October 2015, at a reported cost of 195m yuan per route-km. The line is worked by 48 m long sets of three maglev vehicles, being designed and built by CRRC Zhuzhou. Each set is designed to accommodate up to 363 passengers. The first set of vehicles was delivered in September, allowing time for commissioning and test running ahead of the start of passenger-carrying trials on December 26. Revenue service is expected to begin in early 2016.
- On December 28 a 4·5 km western extension of Changsha metro Line 2 was opened for trial operation. Running from Wangchengpo to West Meixi Lake.This adds a further four stations to the 19 km east-west line with 19 stations which opened beween Wangchengpo and Guangda in April 2014.
