China goes one step further in its efforts to pulverize speed records in land transport. The Asian giant has just completed the first tests with its Hyperloop, a passenger or merchandise transfer system that uses tubes designed so that a special capsule can circulate inside it free of friction or air resistance. The tests would also have been completed with a life-size passenger vehiclenot with smaller prototypes.
The achievement has been echoed by the South China Morning Post, which specifies that China has just carried out three tests on a special line of superconducting magnetic levitation assembled in Datong, in the province of Shanxi. The tests were carried out with a circuit that measures about two kilometers long, far from the 60 that those responsible set as a goal for the coming years.
During the examination the capsule would have reached speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour traveling a distance of 210 meters. There is still work ahead to achieve the ambitious goal set by those responsible: achieve 1,000 km/h once the complete 60 km test circuit is available. The ultimate aspiration is that the Hyperllop can transport passengers or goods at that speed or even faster, which would make it – the Hong Kong newspaper specifies – the fastest land transport technology in the world.
China steps on the accelerator
The person in charge of building and operating the facilities in which the tests have been carried out is CASIC, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, a state-owned company based in Beijing. As he specified, during the tests it was found that the most sensitive components, such as the superconducting magnet, responded as expected. The result makes it easy for you to continue experimenting at higher speeds thanks to vacuum tubes and magnetic levitation (maglev).
Beyond the success of the tests, what is interesting about the Chinese advance is that it shows how, despite having arrived late in the development of Hyperloop technology, it has already achieved results in a relatively short period of time. CASIC started setting up its Datong test facility recently less than a year, in April 2022, and has already managed to complete its first tests. What’s more, in October he carried out a first test with a small-scale capsule prototype. One of the keys to its schedule, says China Space News, is the support it receives from the government.
It is not the only race in which the Asian giant stands out, which operates the largest high-speed rail network on the planet – it exceeds 40,000 kilometers – and has already built a prototype magnetic levitation train and a test line in Qingdao. In mid-2022, it was also facing its final adjustments, prior to the testing phase on an 800-meter long track, Xingguo, a railway that combines maglev and suspension train technology.
China is not advancing alone in its commitment to the Hyperloop, a concept that Elon Musk was working on for more than a decade, who has come to promote The Boring Company; and that has also captured the attention of millionaire Richard Branson. Virgin Hyperloop in fact carried out in 2020 the first test of transporting passengers in capsules on a stretch of 500 meters that it covered in 15 seconds, reaching a mark of close to 172 kilometers per hour.
Cover image: Geely
