China has a new test system for maglev trains that ‘fly on the ground’
- Engineers on the project aim to develop ultra-high-speed travel by combining railway and aerospace technology
- They say trains will be able to operate at 1,000km per hour inside a vacuum tube, according to state media report
Chinese engineers say they have developed a test system that will be able to accelerate a train at 1,000km per hour (621mph) inside a vacuum tube – faster than existing maglev trains, according to state media.
Engineers working on the project in central China say they aim to build an ultra-high-speed low-vacuum pipeline maglev transport system by combining railway and aerospace technology, the official Science and Technology Daily reported on October 20.
The team from the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) hopes they will eventually be able to operate maglev trains in a tube with extremely thin air – meaning they would “fly on the ground” at speeds that rival planes.
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The technology could solve the two biggest problems in train transport: friction between the wheels and the track, and air resistance to the train body.
Maglev – or magnetic levitation – technology eliminates the friction, while operating the train in a low-vacuum pipeline reduces resistance and noise.
The 2km vacuum tube maglev line, located in Datong, Shanxi province, was inspired by Elon Musk’s Hyperloop project, which was proposed about a decade ago, with a prototype train revealed in 2018.
While the technology has attracted a lot of investment, it has significant technical challenges. Carlo van de Weijer, director of smart mobility at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, told The New York Times earlier this month that “the high infrastructure costs associated with Hyperloop do not justify the expense”.