For more than a century, humans have relied on airplanes to dramatically reduce domestic travel time.
But imagine getting on a train that will take you to your destination even faster than any commercial airplane.
That is potentially the reality that awaits China in the coming decades, as the country has reached a major milestone in attempting to introduce ultra-high-speed rail travel.
Its ‘T-Flight’ train has reached a record speed of 600 km/h on a short test track, even faster than Japan’s MLX01 Maglev, the world’s fastest operating train (600 km/h).
However, Chinese engineers expect it to reach a whopping 1,243 mph once commercialized, much faster than the speed of sound and more than twice the speed of a Boeing 737 aircraft.
China’s T-Flight is a maglev train, meaning it uses magnets to lift the cars above the track.
At that speed, the T-Flight train could go from Wuhan to Beijing in just 30 minutes, instead of more than four hours like current high-speed trains.
T-Flight uses magnetic levitation (maglev) technology, where magnets are used to lift the capsules above the runway, allowing them to glide smoothly.
This eliminates the need for wheels and therefore any incidence of friction, providing a faster and quieter service.
T-Flight would be a Hyperloop train, meaning it would transport people at maximum speed in tubes between distant locations.
The concept, first proposed in 1910 by American engineer Robert Goddard, received renewed interest in 2013 thanks to a white paper by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
T-Flight has been built by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).
In tests at Datong in the northern province of Shanxi, the T-Flight reached 623 km/h (387 mph) in a low-vacuum tube that was just 2 km (1.2 miles) long.
The T-Flight train reached a record speed of 600 km/h on a short test track, even faster than Japan’s MLX01 Maglev, the world’s fastest operating train (600 km/h). Pictured, a T-flight supersonic train model on display during an exhibition in Beijing, May 2023.
Japan’s MLX01 Maglev (pictured) is currently the fastest operating train in the world, with top speeds of 361 mph.
In a second round of testing, CASIC aims to extend the track more than 30 times so it can reach faster speeds. Living science reports.
Ultimately, their goal is to build a subway system between Wuhan and Beijing (a distance of more than 1,055 kilometers) that could reduce travel time from four hours to half an hour.
However, this could take many decades to happen due to costs and practicalities, similar to the UK’s beleaguered HS2 rail line.
It is unclear how much will be spent on the project; MailOnline has contacted CASIC for more information.
If T-Flight reaches 1,243 mph once commercialized, it would far outperform trains currently in operation around the world, not to mention airplanes.
Japan’s bullet train runs at 430km/h, while the Eurostar reaches 300km/h and most UK trains operate at around 200km/h.
It would even be faster than NASA’s latest experimental high-speed plane, the X-59, which the agency says is capable of flying at 937 mph.
However, the T-Flight would not match the Concorde, the last supersonic aircraft to fly, which could fly at 1,350 mph.
China already has ‘Fuxing’ high-speed bullet trains, but they do not use maglev technology and operate at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour (217 miles per hour).
China has ‘Fuxing’ high-speed bullet trains, but they do not use maglev (magnetic levitation) technology. In the photo, the Fuxing train leaving Fuzhounan train station.
However, China has the world’s first commercial magnetic levitation system.
The 30 kilometer stretch, opened in 2002 in Shanghai, connects Shanghai Pudong Airport and the city center and cost more than £1 billion to build.
On this line, trains run at up to 431 kilometers per hour (267 miles per hour) and is the fastest commercial train system in the world to date.
The world’s fastest train was built in Japan, but has not yet been put into commercial use.
Operated by Japan Railways Group, the maglev train set the world record after reaching 374 mph (603 kph) on an experimental track in 2016.
China has more than two-thirds of the world’s high-speed railways.
Passengers board a ‘Fuxing’ high-speed bullet train on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line before leaving Cangnan railway station on November 20, 2017.
China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, measuring a staggering 35,000 kilometers (21,747 miles) in 2019, according to China Central Television Station.
The distance is more than two-thirds of the world total.
The country’s total railway coverage is 139,000 kilometers (86,370 miles), enough to circle the Earth three times around the equator.
China is investing heavily in building its railway system.
It plans to spend no less than 2.8 trillion yuan (£307 billion) on building no less than 23,000 kilometers (14,291 miles) of new railways between 2016 and 2020, according to a Government plan.
Xinhua News Agency reported that Beijing completed its largest investment in railway construction in its history between 2013 and 2017.
Nearly 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) of track were completed, more than half of which are high-speed trains, at a total cost of 3.9 trillion yuan (£428 billion).
The country’s newest high-speed train model is the ‘Fuxing’ or ‘Rejuvenation’, which runs at a speed of 350 kilometers (217 miles) per hour.
The model before ‘Fuxing’ is called ‘Hexie’, which means harmony.