Maglev 'owl' is ready to inspect lines
China’s first intelligent inspection vehicle for medium-low-speed magnetically levitated (maglev) railway lines has rolled off the production line in central China’s Hunan Province.
The vehicle, at 5.81 meters long and 2.6 meters wide, was unveiled in the Changsha industrial park of China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co Ltd earlier this week.
With a maximum speed of 25km per hour, the vehicle can carry six maintenance workers, raising the efficiency, accuracy and safety of maglev line maintenance.
The lines currently rely heavily on manual inspection.
“The inspection vehicle is like an owl on maglev lines, as it only comes out at night,” said Luo Jianli, head of the CRCHI transportation equipment research and design institute.
The equipment was jointly developed by the CRCHI, Changsha Metro Group and Hunan Maglev Transportation Development.
China’s first home-grown medium-low-speed maglev rail line began operation in Changsha in May 2016.
