China's 'floating' hyperloop train will shuttle passengers at record-breaking speeds of 621mph - faster than a PLANE
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Travelling by train at speeds close to a commercial jet sounds like the stuff of dreams for busy commuters. Now, China is getting closer to making this a reality for its 1.4 billion citizens. The country has just started construction on a new line for its 'maglev' network – which uses magnets to lift the carriages above the track.
![[China already has the world's first commercial maglev system. Shanghai Maglev (pictured) opened more than two decades ago, is still the fastest commercial train in the world]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/16/92873251-14165333-China_already_has_the_world_s_first_commercial_maglev_system_Sha-a-31_1733501747504.jpg)
Ultimately, China wants to build a vast network of maglev trains across the country, which would go at more than 621 miles (1,000km) for passengers. This is pushing towards the speed of a Boeing 737 plane at cruising altitude – mph 560 mph. These maglev trains will be transported in hyperloops – enclosed tunnels to reduce air resistance and hence let the maglev trains go faster.
![[While China has been using maglev technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale, it has grand ambitions to extend it across the country. Pictured, interior of a train on the Changsha Maglev network in 2016]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/16/92871857-14165333-While_China_has_been_using_maglev_technology_for_almost_two_deca-a-32_1733501747505.jpg)
However, there is still some engineering work to be done – the fastest trains in history have travelled at under 400mph. China already has two maglev train lines – Changsha Maglev and Shanghai Maglev – but these only go as fast as 62 mph and 268 mph, respectively.
![[The existing Changsha Maglev line is China's second maglev line after Shanghai Maglev. Pictured, a Changsha maglev train arriving at Langli Station]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/12/92871859-14165333-Pictured_the_Changsha_Maglev_Train_arriving_at_Langli_Station-a-6_1733489993001.jpg)
China wants to build a vast network of maglev trains - one that uses magnets to lift the carriages above the track. These will be transported in hyperloops - enclosed tunnels to reduce air resistance and hence let the maglev trains go faster. China has now begun construction on a new part of the maglev network, reports Global Times, the daily tabloid newspaper owned by the Chinese Communist Party.
![[China also has high-speed 'Fuxing' bullet trains, but they do not use the maglev (magnetic levitation) technology. Pictured, Fuxing train departing from Fuzhounan Railway Station]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/16/81865285-14165333-China_also_has_high_speed_Fuxing_bullet_trains_but_they_do_not_u-a-33_1733501747582.jpg)
