The “China Science” account on X, a channel of People’s Daily, announced that China has taken another step forward into the future of high-speed transportation. “China is one step closer to a cutting-edge transportation system involving a 1,000 km/h high-speed maglev train running in a low vacuum pipeline after newly completing the main structure of a 2-km full-scale test pipeline in N China’s Shanxi, the longest of its kind globally,” the announcement reads. The track is in Datong City, in the north of China’s Shanxi Province.

The project had been approved in September 2021 and construction began in April 2022. Over the recent months, tests of various aspects of the system have been run, advancing the integration of the various technologies involved. People’s Daily says the project includes over 1,000 organizations and utilizes technologies in advanced manufacturing, advanced power electronics, and new materials, and is incorporating superconducting magnets to power the train. It is known as the “high-speed flying train.”

The project is being developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). If successful, these trains are expected to be used for commuting between “mega city clusters” in the future.