China has several flying train projects underway, thanks to magnetic levitation mechanisms. But there is no doubt that the most impressive is the one that caught the attention of entrepreneurs like Elon Musk. This mass transportation system aims to reach speeds of 1,000 kilometers per hour, a figure that would surpass the travel time of a commercial airplane.
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The tracks where these trains will "fly" are already under construction by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Since 2022, when the tests began, engineers from the Asian giant have been preparing to fulfill an initial route of 160 kilometers, which will be executed in phases.
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The objective of the Chinese authorities carrying out this project is to connect the cities of Changsha and Liuyang in Hunan province. After the first phase of construction is completed, these trains will connect with the Maglev Express line in Changsha, which provides transport to the Changsha Huanghua International Airport and the Changsha South Railway Station.
Although these phases do not fully delve into speed, as initially they barely reach 140 kilometers per hour, the overarching idea is that when there are routes connecting greater distances, interurban and interregional, they will be used to accommodate the main carriages that travel at the staggering speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour.
In China, they are preparing the ground to begin implementing mass land transportation, faster than a commercial airplane, from the next decade (2030 onwards).
The concept of a train with magnetic levitation involves carriages that glide over tracks operating with electromagnetic fields, without the need for friction in the interaction for propulsion, combustion, or speed. In a way, it levitates, but the real thrust lies in the projections of its engine.
China has two methods: one where the tracks go above the carriage and another that is more conventional, with the train flying over the metal structures; the latter could be suited for the hyperloop system, where the machine travels encased in a cylindrical tube.
