The future of efficient, high-speed travel might be a step closer in China after successful high-speed tests of a hyperloop train.
An announcement from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation has revealed the T-Flight magnetically levitated (maglev) train has reached speeds as high as 387 miles per hour on a 1.2-mile low-vacuum tube, although the exact speed was not disclosed.
Robb Report, in an article shared by Yahoo News, said the state-owned company has boasted it is the fastest speed ever achieved by a maglev vehicle.
The transportation system straight out of science fiction was also a dream of Elon Musk, who released a paper on the possibilities of the travel method in 2013. Musk even created a test track under his SpaceX company, which was constructed in 2016.
Other companies took the reins of the technology and prototype infrastructure in the following years, including Richard Branson's Virgin, but little progress was made in bringing it to fruition.
Hyperloop One, as it was called at that point, shut down in late 2023, according to Bloomberg.
But development in China seems to be gathering pace. According to New Atlas, the next step will be to extend the track to allow for testing at even greater speeds — possibly as fast as 621 miles per hour.
China is one step closer to a cutting-edge transportation system involving a 1,000 km/h high-speed #maglev #train running in a low vacuum pipeline after newly completing the main structure of a 2-km full-scale test pipeline in N China's Shanxi, the longest of its kind globally. pic.twitter.com/rDv1NEQ20k
— China Science (@ChinaScience) November 23, 2023
If it's successful, it could be the next potential solution for high-speed travel across relatively short distances. Short-haul flights produce a lot of planet-warming pollution, so alternatives like night trains are being revived to make traveling across the country — or across a continent — comfortable and efficient for passengers who are mindful of their environmental impact.
As Robb Report observed, maglev trains don't create any harmful pollution while in operation, thanks to the system of magnets that help propulsion. While some maglev trains are already in service in China and Japan, for example, they don't travel at the speeds that a hyperloop system would aim to achieve.
But China is a leader in high-speed rail, which is also touted as a solution to avoid polluting air travel. Unfortunately, few countries have delivered the infrastructure to make this method possible.
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