中国将再次拥有世界上最快的子弹头列车

China Restarts Fastest Bullet Trains

China will again lay claim to operating the fastest bullet train service in the world.

According to Chinese media, the Beijing to Shanghai train will once again be allowed to reach speeds up to 350 kilometers an hour. A deadly crash between two bullet trains in 2011 caused China to limit the speeds to 300 kilometers an hour.

The South China Morning Post reported the change will cut travel time by one hour on the 1,300 kilometer trip between Beijing and Shanghai. The faster Beijing-Shanghai trains will begin September 21 and additional lines will also be launched, according to the newspaper.

China already has several of the world’s fastest operating trains. The fastest is a non-bullet train - the Shanghai Maglev¹ - that can reach speeds up to 430 kilometers an hour. The train is limited to carrying passengers from Shanghai’s center to the city's airport.

The term maglev stands for magnetic levitation². In this system, train vehicles are kept off the ground and powered by magnets. High-speed bullet trains have wheels and run on a track.

The second-fastest train in the world is the one running between Beijing and Shanghai, according to the website Railway Technology.

China also has more high-speed rail lines than anywhere else in the world - covering about 19,000 total kilometers, according to the Associated Press.

How fast are trains in other countries?

The fastest non-operating train in the world - undergoing testing in Japan - has reached a top speed of 603 kilometers per hour. It is a Japan Railway maglev train.

In Europe, Germany, Italy and Spain all have trains that can travel more than 320 kilometers an hour.

In the United States, the Amtrak Acela Express – which connects several eastern cities - is the country’s fastest train. It can travel at a top speed of 241 kilometers an hour.

Last year, Amtrak received a $2.45 billion loan from the U.S. government to help develop new high-speed trains expected to launch in 2021. Amtrak says those trains are designed to travel up to 300 kilometers an hour, but will begin service at about 260 kilometers an hour.

Other transport systems

U.S. company Hyperloop One is continuing to test its own high-speed transport system.

Hyperloop is being developed by businessman Elon Musk³. He created and owns the aerospace⁴ company SpaceX, as well as electric carmaker Tesla.Hyperloop operates in a similar way to maglev trains, but uses vehicles called pods. An electromagnetic force causes the pods to “float” on air inside a series of steel tubes. The system forces air out of the tubes to reduce pressure and lower the resistance for the vehicles.

Musk recently announced a Hyperloop pod had reached a top speed of 355 kilometers an hour during a new test. This beat the previous record of 324 kilometers an hour, reached by a student team from Germany during a Hyperloop competition in California.

Musk has said he plans to keep developing the Hyperloop system, which he hopes will eventually greatly reduce travel times between major U.S. cities. He previously⁵ said Hyperloop would be designed to reach a top speed of about 1,200 kilometers an hour.

To most experts, that goal seems out of reach in the near future. However, a Chinese aerospace company just announced plans to build a super high-speed train that it says could reach a speed of 4,000 kilometers an hour.

An official at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation recently spoke⁶ about the project during a conference in China, the state-run China News Service reported.

The official said the planned train would use maglev technology, combined with a Hyperloop-style tube system. He said a project team is currently working with dozens of researchers and companies to develop the world’s first “high-speed flying train.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

levitation – n. making something rise into the air

electromagnetic – adj. pertaining⁷ to a magnetic field that is produced by a current of electricity

style – n. a particular kind of something

1 maglev   

n.磁力悬浮列车；adj.磁力悬浮列车的

参考例句：

• The engine for maglev trains is rather in noticeable.磁悬浮列车的车头是相当值得注意的。
• The high speed maglev railway is a new-style traffic system. 高速磁悬浮铁路是一种新型的交通方式。

2 levitation   

n.升空，漂浮；浮起

参考例句：

• We are particularly interested in phenomena such as telepathy and levitation. 我们对心灵感应及空中漂浮这样的现象特别有兴趣。 来自辞典例句
• This paper presents a magnetic levitation system control using the gain-scheduling controller. 本文以增益程序控制器针对磁浮系统进行控制。 来自互联网

3 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

4 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。