BEJING: A Chinese city, Changsha, launched the country's first locally made magnetically levitated (maglev) train on Friday. Another Chinese city, Changchun, is getting ready to set into motion China's first hybrid railway that can run on two or three different kinds of energy.

The maglev in Changsa city of China's Hunan province is a middle-to-low speed train that will connect the local railway station to the airport across 18.55 kms. It will take 19 minutes and 30 seconds to cover the journey with just one stop in between. The train can go up to a maximum speed of 100 kms an hour carrying 365 passengers.

Low-speed Maglev has been chosen because the distance involved is short and it costs much less to build and maintain compared to the high-speed ones. It took two years and an expenditure of $710 million to build it. But analysts are saying the railways may be difficult to make economic sense of the train service, given the ticket price of 20 yuan (about Rs 200).

In Changchun, the local railway company is installing a railway system that will have a diesel based power generator with integrated internal combustion power and a power battery pack to cut both diesel cost and carbon emissions, according to An Zhongyi, CRRC Changchun's general manager.

The train will enable China to shift from the use of electricity to a non-electrified system. The trial run begins next month and it will take six months of testing to ensure product quality, safety and efficiency before commercial operations begin early next year.

The hybrid train will run at between 120 and 160 kilometers per hour and is best-suited for covering distances less than 100 kms.
"The design team has already tackled technical issues such as weight control, noise and vibration," Li Xuefei, the project's chief engineer at CRRC Changchun, told the State media.

Hybrid-power trains can be used on commuter lines connecting cities in the same region, and for fast transport within cities. The new move will also open vast opportunities for exports as there is a strong demand for rail systems that can use alternative energy sources, railway officials said.

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