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China's First Air Rail Train Starts Trial Operation

Updated: May 30, 2023

The "Optics Valley Photon" air rail train, the first of its kind in China, underwent trial operation on May 11 in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

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The "Optics Valley Photon" air rail train, the first of its kind in China, undergoes trial operation on May 11 in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The air railway is a suspended monorail with trains suspended below the rail beam. It moves the ground traffic to the air, which has an independent right of way. It is a new low and medium-capacity, environmentally-friendly, green and low-carbon urban traffic system.

It's worth noting that the air railway can also operate under special weather, making it capable of 24/7 operation. What's more, passengers have a good view of the city landscape from the carriage.

The Optics Valley air rail tourism line was designed by China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited.

With a total length of about 26.7 kilometers, the line has 16 stations. The first phase of the line is about 10.5 kilometers, starting from the Jiufeng Mountains and ending at the Longquan Mountains.

The Optics Valley air rail tourism line is China's first commercially operated urban air rail project. Vehicles operate on the line are equipped with advanced and smart technologies, capable of detailed perception and operation.

Thanks to the GOA3 fully automatic driverless function, unmanned driving is realized on the trains and the driver and the crew only need to be present on the train in case of emergency.

What's more, the body of the carriages adopts various vibration damping technologies such as air springs to improve smoothness and comfort.

The trains also adopt highly-efficient and energy-saving permanent magnet motor traction technology, which effectively cuts down the weight of the trains and reduces traction energy consumption.

Meanwhile, the flywheel energy storage technology is also used for power supply of the trains, which can recover and utilize the braking energy.

As a supporting facility of the Optics Valley Ecological Corridor, the air rail line links touring and sightseeing resources like the Jiufeng National Forest Park and the Longquanshan Mountains. The aerial view platform is expected to be of great significance in the construction of urban rail transit in Wuhan.



(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)