China's first overhang rail maglev train passes test run
13 May 2005
Xinhua's China Economic Information Service

BEIJING, May 13 (CEIS) -- The first Chinese-made overhang rail maglev train passed test run on May 12 in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The test train, "Zhonghua No. 6," is designed to run at a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour being overhanged from the track above,unlike other prototypes that are levitated above the rail and propelled forward by magnetic forces.

The new model, completely designed and developed by China itself, is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide and 1.87 meters high.With a designed transportation capacity of 80,000 passengers and 48,000 tons of cargo per hour, the train is designed for traffic between large and medium-sized cities.

The overhang rail technology applied to "Zhonghua No. 6" is expected to help reduce potential traffic accidents, said Li Lingqun, chief scientist of the team that developed the train.

China's first self-made maglev train "Zhonghua No. 1" made debut in Dalian in October last year after 16 years of research. The train is designed to run at a low speed of less than 110 kilometers per hour for urban traffic.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/muchbetter/china%20railway/train.jpg

that looks shite.
><

it's prototype...

why overhang?

It looks rediculous and inpractical. Why the hell is it that shape. What a stupid shape for a train.

Actually it's quite intelligent.

Looks hard to board - look at the stairs you have to step up on. PLus you could hit your head on the door.

is there any advantage to having it like that :? or is it a case of "look what i can do" :/

well the design of the train is just a prototype, so once the bugs are iron out in the system, thats is when we'll see the actually train for passengers and cargo.

Upside down does have some advantages such as it doesn't need continuously levtiation above the track to run while the upside down one just hangs, requiring less energy.

well, I'm probably sure there are more reason, but i'll let an engineer explain it. :)

looks like a roller coaster

Upside down does have some advantages such as it doesn't need continuously levtiation above the track to run while the upside down one just hangs, requiring less energy.

??? You cannot hang without having something to hang on to - the track - otherwise you'll just fall down. But if you hang on the track, you also have to lavitate or you'll have friction like hell scratching along the whole track!

Looks pretty stupid, but don't forget that Japan has hanging monorails.

I suppose the prototype isn't fine-tuned for transporting people in complete comfort. Then again, China has some silly designs.

Actually, I remembered suspended railways were designed partly to resist weathering and ease maintenance. Pehaps this is the intent of the Chinese system. Railways that run suspended trains can be blocked from rain, snow, wind-blown debris, etc.

I think the reason for it to be upside down is for the maglev to accelerate at great speeds without losing velocity.

any design that is different from the western world's is always silly and ridiculous??
When did we start defining anything in western is right, and anything in eastern is "naturally" wrong??

Agree with vincent - we shouldn't judge the design too harshly from our Western viewpoint. Although I admit the prototype looks more reminiscent of Alton Towers than Intercity Express!

Why the hell do they put the doors opening that way, and not the regular way?!
Despite being overhanged, it could still have regular doors, which would be much more practical.

Here is an example:

http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/vrr/wuppertal.htm

Check the pictures! Overhanged with regular access to the train.

i can see big advantages of overhanging maglevs, though maintanance might be more tricky snow, flooding, leaves on the track can all be avoided.

wow, thats pretty cool

New maglev makes debut in northeastern China
(by peopledaily online)
http://img.tom.com/news/2005051200235071071_0.jpg
New maglev makes debut in China
http://img.tom.com/news/2005051200235071071_1.jpg
A scientist is introducing the characteristics of the new maglev train.
http://img.tom.com/news/2005051200235071071_2.jpg
Jounalists have the first try to take the trains.

The newly-developed light maglev train "Zhonghua-06" based on the technology of suspended rail made debut in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province on May 11.

The train is a significant project of which China has the indigenous intellectual property.

Li Lingqun, chief scientist of the research group, said that such a structure is simple in the forces received and is material saving. It reduces the weight of road and automobiles and can run at a high speed.

The cost for a two-way line is about RMB 80 million yuan per kilometer, only 28 percent of the currently world advanced technologies.

Moreover, the train features high degree of safety. Derailment and overturn can be avoided as the train is set in suspended track.

With a designed speed of 400 kilometers per hour, the train is an inter-city vehicle dedicated to economic zones in large and medium-sized cities.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200505/13/images/0512_C12.jpg
China's light maglev train "Zhonghua-06" made debut in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province on May 11. The train is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide and 1.87 meters high. The designed speed is 400 kPH

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200505/13/images/0512_C14.jpg

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200505/13/images/0512_C13.jpg
The driver's cabin in the Zhonghua-06 maglev.

is there any advantage to having it like that :? or is it a case of "look what i can do" :/

China and India are huge..in term of population. Thousand cities are waiting for better rail solution. and since they have abundance of cheap and smart graduated engineers available for few dollars..
It's much cheaper to "I can do it" rather than "I'm importing(wasting) it again".

sooner India will join the 'race'. I hope :)
Great news for all smaller countries (Malaysia, Brunei..etc)...more bargain when shopping on high-speed train solution.

There is a need to build an intercity transportation network between China's largest cities. The present railway system is not high speed and since many millions travel between these cities regularly, there is an urgent need to improve the railway network. Air travel is still not affordable to the masses.

It looks like it's an upside-down high-speed train :). Also, how do you evacuate such a train in an emergency? You don't, right?

Very fascinating. But why the overhang design, I wonder. Does anyone know?

whaaaaaa, *crash* that's what happens in a emergency, nothing down below!

It looks like a very prototype, not a great design for mass transit system, there could be lot of lawsuits for tons of head banging and hitting there, ow!

Who's supposed to survive a 400 km/h rail crash anyway?

Guys who cares if its overhang or not? Point is this... China is a developing country and they have made new advances. One being developing their own maglev transportation system that is 100% Chinese. The overhang design is just a PROTOTYPE... having said this they can just easily put this on a "normal" rail system and use it. BTW, what other countries have their own homegrown maglev technology? Germany, Japan, now China, where else?

Check the pictures! Overhanged with regular access to the train.
================================================
That is a very old train. The Chinese runs at 400 Km, I think the old regular look train run at a very slow speed. The high speed demand a different look and the door is just a compromise to the speed requirement and the cost for a prototype.

I have to agree with the doors. Opening out is a problem as it poses a boarding hazard. It would be much better if the door slid up on the inner or outer shell to the ceiling or roof (respectively, although ceiling is probably a much simpler proposal in practical terms), hugging the shape of the train and not coming towards the passenger.
Otherwise, I think there is actually potentially higher flexibility from the overhang model. It is a more streamlined track structure which allows for tighter corridors and possibly sharper turns without much of a performance (=speed) sacrifice, while making it cheaper at the same time. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this.

The U.S. has its own maglev technology as well, but it really, totally sucks compared to Eurasia.

Upside down does have some advantages such as it doesn't need continuously levtiation above the track to run while the upside down one just hangs, requiring less energy.

:ohno:

Overhang trains are not that unusual.
Here is one from Düsseldorf airport:
http://www.fen-net.de/er/einzelthemen/h-bahn/bilder/25g.jpg
http://www.monorails.org/webpix%202/SkyTrain02.jpg

I think the different balance point makes it easier and cheaper to build the tracks. But I am not sure about that. Anybody has a good explanation for that?

^Snow.

Because the contact point is under the track, it is less subject to interference or damage done by snow or other substance.

There are just two main types of monorail: straddle and suspended.

Shonan Monorail (http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Shonan.html) in Japan. The same system is being used in Chiba (http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Chiba.html) "because of the occasional inclement weather of the area. With Safege, the running surfaces and train bogies are protected from the elements inside the beams. Alweg-type monorails need either heaters in the beam or shovels on the fronts of beam during heavy snow or ice conditions."
http://www.monorails.org/webpix%202/Shonan01.jpg

"Heating equipment has been installed in the guideway to deal with Russia's harsh winters."
Moscow, Russia: (http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/CnstMosc3.html)
http://www.monorails.org/webpix%202/CnstMM09.jpg

stupid shape

ppl who said it is stupid without any reasonable explaination are stupid themselves.

China's ideas are unique which makes the country very interesting.

trying to be original but being.. hum lets say strambotic. :hammer: