Maglev

Your roller doors might be smooth, but they'll never be this smooth. Californian company Hover Doors uses permanent magnets to float heavy sliding doors as if they're mag-lev monorails, for super-quiet, minimal-effort opening and closing.

A new Sky Train test track in Southern China has debuted the world's first maglev transit system built using permanent magnets instead of electromagnets. It's capable of keeping its underslung carriages suspended indefinitely without a power supply.

China has produced the first of a new breed of maglev trains capable of speeds up to 600 km/h, or nearly half the speed of sound. It says these will be the fastest ground transport services available on the planet.

​After years of development, German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp has successfully demonstrated its new cable-free, Willy Wonka-style elevator concept, moving multiple cars vertically and horizontally in a single shaft using a magnet-based drive system similar to that in Maglev trains.

Japanese toy company​ Takara Tomy is offering a working scale replica of the record-breaking 603 km/h (375 mph) SC Maglev (Superconducting Magnetic levitation) Train. The Linear Liner uses an original magnetic propulsion system, and has an intriguing creation story behind it.

Central Japan Railway Company's high-speed maglev train has been busy setting records and then breaking them again in the past week. Most recently, the test train hit a top speed of 603 km/h (375 mph) on Tuesday, on the Yamanashi test track west of Tokyo.

Amazon drones aren't the only way we could be getting our parcels delivered in the future. UK firm Mole Solutions is exploring the idea of using small robot trains running on underground tracks to manage deliveries, and it's received funding from the British government to help test the proposal.

The Central Japan Railway Company has whisked passengers along a section of track at up to 500 km/h (311 mph) during testing of the levitating Shinkansen train. One hundred wide-eyed train enthusiasts were onboard the train's first manned voyage, with trials to continue over eight days.

A new high-temperature superconductor can trap a record magnetic field of 17.6 Tesla – an advance that could bring us closer to cheaper maglev and vacuum trains, better electric grids, and flywheel energy storage.

Scientists at Southwest Jiaotong University in China have reportedly built a maglev train that could reach 1,800 mph (2,900 km/h). According to The Daily Mail, a vacuum is used to minimize air resistance. Project lead Dr Deng Zigang claims it could be used for military or space launch syste

Now that the media kerfuffle surrounding Elon Musk's Hyperloop transit system proposal has settled down to a dull roar, it's a good time to step back and consider in detail some of the real innovations and difficult issues raised thorugh analysis of the 57-page Hyperloop plan.

The 21st Century will undoubtedly bring with it a raft of people moving projects that redefine our notion of public transport. So just what will be pulling into the station in 50 years time?