China's first magnetic  levitation train car based on Chinese technology came off the  production line Tuesday at the Changchun Passenger Car Plant (CPCP) of northeast Jilin province.

   This achievement claims China the third country in the world  following Germany and Japan to gain the technology of magnetic  suspension train, which uses powerful magnets to hold a train a  few millimeters from the track and propel it with little noise or  vibration. 

   "It can run at an hourly speed of 60 kilometers, with the  maximum 100 kilometers per hour during trial runs," said Ma Shukun, CPCP president.

   The CPCP is confident it can raise the speed in the future,  said Ma, adding that engineers are preparing for tests of 300 to  400 kilometers per hour.

   Early this year, a German consortium, Transrapid International  (TRI), won a lucrative contract to construct a high-speed magnetic suspension train for a 30-kilometre (19-mile) line in Shanghai  connecting the Pudong airport to the downtown area.

   With a total investment of 8.9 billion yuan (1.07 billion US  dollars), the magnetic levitation train system is considered a key project in Shanghai's Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).

   While the magnetic train is likely to play an important role in transportation, China has said it would rather see such a project  built with domestic technology.

   The train carriage developed by the CPCP is a result of  cooperation between the Zhuzhou Electricity-Powered Locomotive  Research Institute in Hunan province and the Southwest China  Jiaotong University in Sichuan province.

   According to sources from the CPCP, the train car, 11.2 meters  long and 2.6 meters wide, can hold 28 seats with carrying capacity of two tons. The car, with its framework made of aluminum alloy,  weighs 16 tons.

   It can run on an electromagnetic cushion of about eight to ten  millimeters to make the travel safe, smooth, and noiseless, said  the sources.   

   The train will soon be put into regular operation after passing a comprehensive examination in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan  province. 

   A magnetic suspension train is based on the principle of  increasing speed by reducing the friction encountered by standard  wheels-and-rail transport, sending trains zipping along on an  electromagnetic cushion.

   China has accelerated its research on manufacturing magnetic  levitation trains and high-temperature superconductivity in recent years.