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China announces plans for world’s first hyperloop line with 1,000 km/h trains

China is on track to build its first hyperloop train line according to the nation’s top engineering and rail design institutes. It would run between the cities Shanghai and Hangzhou.

The plan is to lay 150 km-long (93-mile) tracks in a vacuum tunnel which would allow maglev (train transportation that uses two sets of electromagnets allowing the train to levitate 10 cm above the track) trains to travel at speeds of up to 1,000 km/h (621 mph).

According to a report published in the Chinese journal Railway Standard Design on April 17 “a comprehensive assessment on the candidate construction sites for ultra-high speed pipeline maglev system demonstration line” was commissioned and China’s wealthiest cities on east coast won out.

#China set to test 1,000km/h ultra-high-speed-maglev trainhttps://t.co/xT5COjjtoV pic.twitter.com/PIUNGOmKdA

— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) April 24, 2023

An ultra-high speed pipeline maglev system – commonly referred to as a hyperloop – was popularized in contemporary engineering circles by Elon Musk in 2012. However, the idea was originally conceived in 1799 by Englishman George Medhurst who came up with the concept of a vactrain which could travel 6,400–8,000 km/h (4,000–5,000 mph), five to six times the speed of sound. The vactrain was actually invented by American engineer Robert Goddard in 1904.

The maglev system deploys two sets of electromagnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, exploiting the lack of friction. The trains levitate approximately 10 centimeters (3.9 in) off the track.

There are currently six commercial maglev systems in operation, one in Japan, two in South Korea, and three in China.

The hyperloop however presents another degree of difficulty, as engineers have yet to come up with a system that could maintain a vacuum over large distances which has thus far prevented the concept becoming reality.

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