New traction system speeds up Chinese bullet trains

China's high-speed trains will soon use a permanent magnet synchronous traction system that can run trains at up to 500 kph, the Chinese Economic Weekly reported on Wednesday.

After more than a decade of research and development, the nation's independently developed traction technology is ready for commercial use.

"A 690-kw permanent magnet traction system designed for 500-kph high-speed trains will be produced in small quantities," said Ding Rongjun, general manager of CRRC Corp's Zhuzhou Institute and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Ding said this would make China one of the few nations to master such technology after Germany, Japan, and France.

"If all goes well, Chinese high-speed trains will soon be equipped with a new system that is more stable and secure and uses less energy," said Li Yifeng, chief designer at the institute.

The company has tested its liability on subway trains which run at a lower speed. In 2011, a 190-kw permanent magnet traction system was used on a subway line in Shenyang, in northeast China's Liaoning Province. It has proven a success, without reporting any failures.

On May 16 this year, the system was introduced to a subway line in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province.

Compared with the alternating current asynchronous motors that are currently widely used on bullet train, the new system increases power by 60 percent while motor attrition decreases by 70 percent, the report said. Endi