China's first commercial maglev 2.0 arrives at Changsha, Hunan Province. File photo:Xinhua

China's first commercial maglev 2.0 runs at 160 kilometers per hour on the Changsha Maglev Express Line in Central China's Hunan Province, a great breakthrough in the medium-speed maglev transportation system independently developed by China.

The train's speed is the result of successful joint research by institutions including CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co and Hunan Maglev Technology Research Center over the past 10 months. They overcame major technical difficulties including medium-speed suspension stability and axle-bridge coupling.

The commercial operation of the 1.0 version of the train, China's first commercial maglev project, was launched in Changsha in May 2016.

CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co, along with 20 other companies, developed the 2.0 version in June 2018, with a suspension capacity of 6 tons and speeds increasing 60 percent from the previous version. The train is comprised of three sections and can carry up to 500 passengers.

Tong Laisheng, head of the research institute at CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co, said that the 2.0 maglev is manufactured according to commercial operation standards and that various operation indexes meet these standards, meaning China's maglev transportation system is suitable for engineering applications.

A 3.0 version of the medium-low-speed maglev will increase capacity and acceleration speeds, running at 200 kilometers per hour, and can be used for city-to-city transportation.