Maglev (derived from magnetic levitation) is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance.
Compared to conventional railways, maglev trains have higher top speeds, superior acceleration and deceleration, lower maintenance costs, improved gradient handling, and lower noise. However, they are more expensive to build, cannot use existing infrastructure, and use more energy at high speeds.
The SCMaglev (superconducting maglev, formerly called the MLU) is a magnetic levitation (maglev) railway system developed by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and the Railway Technical Research Institute.
The SCMaglev uses an electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system for levitation, guidance, and propulsion.
A vehicle (from Latin vehiculum) is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to ground transport vehicles such as human-powered land vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-powered transports (e.g. horse-drawn carriages/wagons, ox carts, dog sleds), motor vehicles (e.g. motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters) and railed vehicles (trains, trams and monorails), but more broadly also includes cable transport (cable cars and elevators), watercraft (ships, boats and underwater vehicles), amphibious vehicles (e.g. screw-propelled vehicles, hovercraft, seaplanes), aircraft (airplanes, helicopters, gliders and aerostats) and space vehicles (spacecraft, spaceplanes and launch vehicles).
This article primarily concerns the more ubiquitous land vehicles, which can be broadly classified by the type of contact interface with the ground: wheels, tracks, rails or skis, as well as the non-contact technologies such as maglev. ISO 3833-1977 is the international standard for road vehicle types, terms and definitions.
Rapid transit, mass rapid transit (MRT) or rail rapid transit (RRT) and commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, metro or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as el trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains. A common alternative term for rapid transit in North America is heavy rail. Rapid transit systems are usually electric railways that, unlike buses or trams, operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks. Some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation (maglev), or monorail. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines.
The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 29 lines including 24 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and two light rail tram lines, and 524 stations. The rail network extends 879 km (546 mi) across 12 urban and suburban districts of Beijing and into one district of Langfang in neighboring Hebei province. In December 2023, Beijing Subway became the world's longest metro system by route length, surpassing the Shanghai Metro. With 3.8484 billion trips delivered in 2018 (10.544 million trips per day) and single-day ridership record of 13.7538 million set on July 12, 2019, the Beijing Subway was the world's busiest metro system in the years immediately prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Beijing Subway opened in 1971 and is the oldest metro system in China and on the mainland of East Asia. Before the system began its rapid expansion in 2002, the subway had only two lines. The existing network still cannot adequately meet the city's mass transit needs. Beijing Subway's extensive expansion plans call for 998.5 km (620.4 mi) of lines serving a projected 18.5 million trips every day when Phase 2 Construction Plan finished (around 2025). The most recent expansion came into effect on December 15, 2024, with the openings of Line 3 and Line 12 and an extension of the Changping line.
Transport in China has experienced major growth and expansion in recent years. Although China's transport system comprises a vast network of transport nodes across its huge territory, the nodes tend to concentrate in the more economically developed coastal areas and inland cities along major rivers. The physical state and comprehensiveness of China's transport infrastructure tend to vary widely by geography. While remote, rural areas still largely depend on non-mechanized means of transport, urban areas boast a wide variety of modern options, including a maglev system connecting the city center of Shanghai with Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Airports, roads, and railway construction will provide a massive employment boost in China over the next decade.
Much of contemporary China's transport systems have been built since the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. The railway, which is the primary mode of long distance transport, has seen rapid growth reaching 139,000 km (86,371 mi) of railway lines making it the second longest network in the world (2016). Prior to 1950, there were only 21,800 km (13,546 mi) of railway lines. The extensive rail network includes the longest and busiest HSR network in the world with 35,000 km (21,748 mi) of high-speed lines by year end 2019. While rail travel remained the most popular form of intercity transport, air travel has also experienced significant growth since the late 1990s. Major airports such as Beijing Capital International and Shanghai Pudong International being among the busiest in the world. At the end of 2017, there are some 34 metro systems in operation across China, including some of the largest and busiest subway networks in the world. Of the 12 largest metro networks in the world by length, seven are now in China. Additionally, many bus rapid transit, light rail and rapid transit lines are currently under construction, or in the planning stages across the country. The highway and road system also has gone through rapid expansion, resulting in a rapid increase of motor vehicle use throughout China. A government-led effort started in the 90s to connect the country by expressways via the National Trunk Highway System has expanded the network to about 97,000 km (60,273 mi) by the end of 2012 making China's the longest expressway network in the world.
Rapid transit, mass rapid transit (MRT) or rail rapid transit (RRT) and commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, metro or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as elevated, el or L trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains. A common alternative term for rapid transit in North America is heavy rail. Rapid transit systems are usually electric railways that, unlike buses or trams, operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks. Some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation (maglev), or monorail. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines.
The L0 Series (Japanese: L0系, Hepburn: Eru-zero-kei; "L zero series") is a high-speed maglev train which the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) has been developing and testing. JR Central plans to use the L0 series on the Chūō Shinkansen railway line between Tokyo and Osaka, which is under construction.
The L0 series uses the Japanese-designed SCMaglev system. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Sharyo, a subsidiary of JR Central, are building fourteen pre-production vehicles.
The Chūō Shinkansen (中央新幹線, Central Shinkansen, lit. 'Central new trunk line') is a Japanese maglev line under construction between Tokyo and Nagoya, with plans for extension to Osaka. Its initial section is between Shinagawa Station in Tokyo and Nagoya Station in Nagoya, with stations in Sagamihara, Kōfu, Iida and Nakatsugawa. Following the completion of the Tokyo–Nagoya line, the line will extend to stations in Mie, Nara and Osaka. The line is expected to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in 40 minutes, and eventually Tokyo and Osaka in 67 minutes, running at a maximum speed of 505 km/h (314 mph). About 90% of the 286-kilometer (178 mi) line to Nagoya will be tunnels.
The Chuo Shinkansen is the culmination of Japanese maglev development since the 1970s, a government-funded project initiated by Japan Airlines and the former Japanese National Railways (JNR). Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) now operates the facilities and research. The line is intended to extend and incorporate the existing Yamanashi test track (see below). The trainsets are popularly known in Japan as linear motor car (リニアモーターカー, rinia mōtā kā), though there are many technical variations.