China’s Hyperloop breaks its own speed record with how fast it travels per hour
China's version of the hyperloop has broken its own speed record.
The high-speed train achieved a whopping 623 kilometers per hour on a test track last year, but it's just managed to surpass this mind blowing speed even further.
The test was run by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) which is an aerospace company that makes rockets, missiles and spacecraft.
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The South China Morning Post reports that the exact speed it reached is currently being withheld as classified information, but let's face it, it must be pretty eye-watering.
The train uses something called maglev technology, where a train is levitated along a guideway through the use of magnetic forces.
To increase speed further, it travels through a vacuum tube that reduces the vehicle's air resistance.
Prior to this record, the fastest hyperloop speed was 463 kilometers per hour, which was achieved at the Technical University of Munich in 2019.
Back in 2022, it was thought that Elon Musk's hyperloop trains would become the quickest form of travel.
One of the reasons why hyperloop transport could be the fastest thing in the world is due to the lack of air resistance involved.
While planes, trains and automobiles have to push their way through the air, hyperloop tubes could have most of the air sucked out (while still keeping it in the pod where the people go) to reach even higher speeds.
Theoretically, hyperloop technology could go as quickly as 760mph and come close to breaking the sound barrier, though part of the problem with hitting this speed is the track and tunnels the pods run on are not long enough.
However, at the end of last year, Hyperloop One officially closed down.
The company sold its assets and closed its offices at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, Dubai is now working on building a 1,200 mile underwater train to India.
The Dubai to Mumbai underwater train project was first mentioned in 2018 as a hypothetical idea, but now it’s quickly becoming a reality, but it’ll cost an extraordinary amount of cash.
As the United Arab Emirates’ National Advisor Bureau is working on a blueprint for the railway and for the type of train needed for such a journey, it has hopes to bridge the gap between the two cities and provide something innovative to the region.
This would be incredible, but certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Topics: Travel
Lucy Devine