Beijing: China has unveiled what it hopes to be the fastest train in the world with a top speed of more than 370 miles per hour.

The new train, self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, uses maglev technology which allows it to travel so quickly.

Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train "levitates" above the track with no contact between body and rail.

China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai has a short maglev line running from one of its airports to town.

The debut of the superfast train could cut down time for people traveling from Beijing to Shanghai to only 2.5 hours. That's a distance of 754 miles and currently a 4.5-hour train ride on one of China's bullet trains.

Today, the blue and black locomotive travelled out of the manufacturing building of the state-owned CRRC Qingdao Sifang, China's official train builder, in Qingdao.  

'Welcome to the high-speed maglev train that runs at 600kph,' read a digital screen inside the train, according to video by Xinhua news agency.

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The train will be put into service in between five to 10 years, Liang Jianying, CRRC Qingdao Sifang's deputy general manager and chief engineer, told China Central Television.

The locomotive can travel with two to 10 carriages, each holding more than 100 passengers, Ding Sansan, chief engineer of the project, told Xinhua News agency. 

Advances to train technology have taken off in recent years, with Japan developing a bullet train capable of reaching 249 mph.

Countries from Japan to Germany are also looking to build maglev networks, although high costs and incompatibility with current track infrastructure remain hurdles to rapid development.

China's newest train is expected to be ready for commercial use within the next decade.

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