China has commenced research on "super-speed" railway technology, said the Ministry of Railways (MOR) on October 19.

The new technology will increase the average speed of trains to over 500 km per hour, said MOR chief engineer He Huawu.

The 400-500 km/h high-speed railway technology is in its final phase of development and 380-km/h trains are already rolling off production lines, He added.

As of September, China has put 7,055 km of high-speed railway tracks—the longest in the world—into service, and the total length is expected to hit 13,000 km by 2012.