Under the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the municipal government of Shanghai, the National Maglev Transportation Engineering Technology R&D Center (hereinafter referred to as "Maglev Center" or “NMTC”) was founded to support the construction and operation of Shanghai Maglev Demonstration Line and to further promote the application of high speed maglev transportation in China and the research on the key technology of engineering and system.
Founded in 2001, Maglev Center was a subordinate unit of the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co., Ltd. The company took charge of the construction and operating management of the Shanghai Maglev Demonstration Line. Through the construction and operation of the Shanghai Maglev Demonstration Line, Maglev Center has absorbed and mastered the high-speed maglev rail (guideway) technology, operation and maintenance technology.
Shanghai High speed Maglev Demonstration Line (2003)
Under the "Tenth Five-Year Plan"(2001-2005) National 863 Program and "Eleventh Five-Year Plan"(2006-2010) science and technology support program, and based on technology digestion and absorption, localization and innovation research have been carried out. The national Ministry of Science and Technology offered a total of about 1.3 billion RMB project funds in support of the maglev scientific research. A 1.5 km length long-stator EMS Maglev Test line was built at the Jiading campus of Tongji University (test facility with total assets of about 500 million RMB). In Shanghai Lingang New City, a short-stator EMS maglev (also called Urban Maglev) test line was built, including a 1.7 km long line and a three section train with a total cost of about 250 million RMB.
1.5 km length long-stator EMS Maglev Test line built at the Jiading campus of Tongji University in Shanghai (finished in 2007)
Localization reference Maglev vehicle designed and integrated by NMTC and ThyssenKrupp (operation since Feb. 2011)
Hybrid Maglev vehicle with permanent magnet operation on the guideway at the Jiading campus ofTongji University
Since 2006, commissioned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development, Maglev Center presided over the preparation of the "High-speed Maglev Vehicle General Technical Conditions", "Low-speed Maglev Vehicle General Technical Conditions", "High-speed Maglev Transportation Design Specification", and "Low-speed Maglev Transportation Design Specification " and other industry standards.
During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" (2011-2015), the main task of Maglev Center is to sustain the operation of the Shanghai Maglev Demonstration Line, and to continue to carry out the research on key technology and maglev application possibility. The center has won a total of 220 million RMB funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology for high speed maglev supporting project in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period.
In July 2012, Maglev Center was integrated into Tongji University. The center continues to carry out research on the core transportation technology of maglev, and plays "R & D base", "experimental base", "training base", "foreign cooperation window", "technical consulting service window" and "technology standardization organizations" role.
From 2013 to 2016 Maglev Center participated in the construction of Changsha airport Maglev line by providing consultancy of planning and design, design standard compiling, engineering design of the guideway-switch and levitation control software.
Changsha Urban maglev line(18.55km) (open in May 2016)
During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" (2016-2020), Maglev Center cooperated with CRRC QingDao SiFang Co., LTD and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive CO., LTD, took over 3 tasks from the project of “Research on Key Technology of High Speed Maglev System”and 1 task from the project of “Research on General Plan for Medium Speed Maglev Vehicle”. Meanwhile, Maglev Center provided technical support for the successful trial running of the sample vehicle of 600km/h on the high speed maglev test line located in Jiading campus of Tongji University. Maglev Center has been contributing to the industrialization of the high speed maglev technology.
Trial running of 600km/h sample maglev vehicle and Medium speed maglev vehicle on line
Since public operation of the Shanghai high speed maglev demonstration line in 2003, the Maglev center has played an important role in providing technical support to the operation and maintenance of Shanghai Maglev line.
Maglev Guideway Track Inspection System developed by NMTC