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New Delhi, Dec 10 (ANI): Experts believe that high-speed trains would run at a skyrocketing speed of 500 kilometers per hour or above in 2050.

“We will own the technology of operating trains at the speed of 500 km per hour by 2050,” said Zhang Shuguang, deputy chief engineer of China’s Railway Ministry, at the seventh World Congress on High Speed Rail.

Among almost 2,000 participants, 42 percent said at least 500 km, 33 percent selected 500 km and only 9 percent selected 400 km, reports the China Daily.

The minister explained his point through his own experience of being aboard on the test run of high-speed Beijing-Shanghai train.

During the test run on December 3, a CRH-380A train set a new speed record of 486.1 km per hour.

“After the speed exceeded 380 km per hour, the interaction between wheel and track did not increase obviously along with the growth of the speed. When the speed per hour hit 450 km, I felt even better than when it reached 400 km. So I think in 40 years, we will reach this goal,” Zhang explained.

President of Beijing Jiaotong University, Ning Bin, echoed Zhang’s remarks, saying the operational speed of high-speed rail would exceed 500 km per hour.

“The train’s speed per hour is affected by the limitations of technology, economic and social benefits,” noted Ning.

The operational speed of high-speed trains increased to 350 km per hour in 2010 from 200 km per hour, a record Japan set in 1964.

“In the next 40 years, with the development of material science, non-contact power supply and wheel track technologies, it is possible (for the speed per hour) to increase another 150 km,” Ning said.

Though, many were in favor, other also argued that there were factors such as technology, environment, energy efficiency and maintenance cost that into play.

The seventh World Congress on High Speed Rail, with the theme “High speed rail spearheads greener transport,” was held in Beijing from December 7 to 9. (ANI)