Archive · 14 Aug 2026
China's Maglev Train Hits 800 Kmph, Breaks Own Acceleration Record
China has an amazing train that floats above the tracks using magnets.
Because it never touches the rails, there is no friction to slow it down.
This train just set a new world record by speeding up to 800 kilometers per hour in only 5.3 seconds.
That is much faster than any passenger train people can ride today, which goes around 320 kilometers per hour.
The experimental train weighs about 1.1 tonnes, similar to a small car.
It was tested on a short one-kilometre track at a laboratory in Hubei province, China.
Scientists also made sure the train could stop safely, which it did over a distance of about 200 metres.
In earlier tests, the train reached 700 km/h in two seconds and 650 km/h in seven seconds.
This is the third time in six months that China has beaten its own world record.
Researchers are even working on trains that could travel in tubes with almost no air to go even faster.
China's experimental maglev train reached 800 kmph in 5.3 seconds on a 1-kilometre test track at Donghu Laboratory in Hubei province.
This is the third time the train has broken its own world acceleration record within six months.
Earlier runs saw the train reach 798 kmph, 700 kmph in two seconds in December 2025, and 650 kmph in seven seconds in June 2025.
The 1.1-tonne train accelerated from zero to 800 kmph and then braked to a complete halt over nearly 200 metres.
Researchers also tested high-power energy delivery, levitation control, electromagnetic propulsion, and emergency braking systems.
The experimental speed far exceeds commercial maglev services, which run at around 320 kmph in China and Japan.
- Who
- Chinese researchers at Donghu Laboratory in Hubei province
- What
- An experimental maglev train accelerated to 800 kmph in 5.3 seconds, breaking its own world record for acceleration
- When
- Exact date not specified; it is the third record set within six months, following tests in June 2025 and December 2025
- Where
- Donghu Laboratory, Hubei province, China
- Why
- To advance ultra-high-speed maglev technology and test critical systems such as propulsion, levitation control, and emergency braking
- Top speed reached
- 800 kmph
- Acceleration time
- 5.3 seconds
- Test track length
- 1 kilometre
- Train weight
- 1.1 tonnes
- Location
- Donghu Laboratory, Hubei province, China
- Previous records
- 798 kmph; 700 kmph in 2 seconds (Dec 2025); 650 kmph in 7 seconds (June 2025)
- Braking distance
- Nearly 200 metres
- Commercial maglev speed
- Around 320 kmph in China and Japan