Transport

621-mph maglev vacuum train "T-Flight" test successful

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T-Flight mock-up of what it could be
T-Flight mock-up of what it could be
T-Flight maglev artist rendering of what the train could look like in the vacuum tube
Laying out the test tubes for the T-Flight maglev
Compartmental tubes are mated for the T-Flight maglev
The crew testing the T-Flight maglev ... hard to believe they're aiming for Mach 3.2 when they're still using RGB cables for their monitors
China Media Group
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In February of this year, we reported on the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and its phase one testing of a low-vacuum-tube hyperloop-style maglev ultra-high-speed (UHS) train. In initial 1.24-mile-long (2-km) tests, the T-Flight hit a whopping 387 mph (623 km/h).

On its last go-around in October of 2023, it ran the fairly short track under non-vacuum conditions. This week, CASIC – unironically known for being China's largest maker of strategic and tactical missiles – has just successfully tested the UHS maglev under low-vacuum conditions on that very same track with successful results. According to CGTN, "the test showed that the maximum speed and suspension height of the vehicle were consistent with the preset values."

The test showed that all systems were nominal, and the train's speed and height above the track lined up with the preset values of the test – which were not disclosed. CASIC was able to verify that all large-scale vacuum-related systems were also in working order during the test. All systems, check!

The crew testing the T-Flight maglev ... hard to believe they're aiming for Mach 3.2 when they're still using RGB cables for their monitors
China Media Group

The idea of high-speed vacuum-tube transport has largely petered out in the West, but it's still an intoxicating idea. With little-to-no atmosphere, aerodynamics and wind resistance become almost completely a non-factor. Not to mention friction, drag and heat, as the train effectively floats in the air, touching nothing at all, powered and levitated by magnetic repulsion.

Frictionless maglev trains have of course been around for some time now. Japan's L0 Series Maglev, built in 2012, holds the record for being the fastest train in the world, clocking in at a speedy 374 mph (602 km/h). And China already has the second fastest, built a few years ago in 2021, currently clocked at only 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower than the Japanese train.

The T-Flight has the advantage of being in a low-vacuum tube, where outside atmospheric forces will have little effect on the train's speed or stability, depending on the amount of vacuum. Normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 14.7 psi (1 bar), whereas "low-vacuum" could be from 1 psi (0.07 bar) to around 13.7 psi (0.9 bar). We don't have the exact figures used in their test, but an educated guess would say it's closer to the lower end of the scale.

Laying out the test tubes for the T-Flight maglev

The goal of the T-Flight maglev train system is to connect megacities via an ultra-high-speed railway capable of getting passengers from cities such as Beijing to Shanghai in as little as an hour and a half. For reference, that's a 680-mile (1,100-km) journey that takes 4.5-6.5 hours on existing high-speed rail. Even flights take a little over two hours, plus commutes at either end. The fastest traditional trains take 12 or more hours.

CASIC plans to run the T-Flight at its full 621-mph (1,000-km/h) top speed in the second phase of testing, which will require an extended track some 37 miles (60 km) long. That's about 100 mph (161 km/h) faster than the typical cruise speed of the most common airliner in the world; the Airbus A320.

According to a CASIC video from six years ago, there could also be a phase three, targeting 2,485 mph (4,000 km/h). That's not a typo. Mind you, six years ago, the group also said phase two would target 1,242 mph (2,000 km/h), which seems to have been walked back.

Even so, the T-Flight has already gone faster than the world's fastest maglev train, on a comically short track, and without the aid of a low-vacuum environment. In a low-vacuum environment, with some room to stretch its legs, it'll undoubtedly go much faster.

China certainly has the population to make advanced mass transit projects economically viable – but it remains to be seen whether the country has the will and wherewithal to push the insane expense of a super-long-range vacuum tube through to completion. Every capitalist attempt thus far has failed.

And the safety questions remain; what happens if the tube depressurizes and throws unexpected variables into the aerodynamic equations? Can you really fire passengers through a low-vacuum tube at these speeds and expect them all to remain in a solid state? Is this all just a front for a giant railgun project that'll rain carriage-sized supersonic projectiles down on hapless enemies, as my colleague has mused, or will China persevere and deliver the hyperloop that Elon promised?

We're not sure how much CASIC has spent on the development of T-Flight thus far, or how much it will cost to complete, but with nearly a billion and a half inhabitants in China potentially ready to ride, and a Chinese state-owned company with annual revenues over US$30 billion in charge of making it happen, this very well could be a project rifled through to completion.

Source: Xinhua

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14 comments
Expanded Viewpoint
So how much energy does it take to evacuate the air from the tube, as opposed to how much energy is saved by operating the trains in a vacuum? Or do we grow vacuums on trees these days, and they are free for the taking?
BMC2
So...China Aerospace Science and Industry succeeded where Elon Musk failed?
Rick O
The tubes would add the advantage of avoiding animal train collisions and weather interference, as would tunnels. Thinking through it tunnels would probably cost more, but leave open land for other uses. Elevated tubes might be cheaper. I'm still not sold on trying to evacuate the tubes. The energy required to remove air from that volume has to be enormous, and not worth the payback vs a train with just excellent aerodynamics. Although, a tunnel would allow air to compress ahead of the train instead of being blown to the side or up. So, what are everyone's thoughts on elevated rails with a curved roof covered in solar panels, and partially open sides? No energy intensive vacuum pumps, and mostly protected from the elements? Or just a bigger tube to allow the air to move around the train, still with solar panels.
Aermaco
Good point EV,, but maybe they will eventually conserve vacuum and only have to replace leakages?

The big issue is the cost to build the tube which only will be affordable in city to city trains with high traffic volume. But maybe most all RR track easements will be getting tubes some day. However, it wont reduce overall traffic problems one bit even as E Musk incorrectly assumed it would disputing flight above the clear absolute ultimate traffic solver and so he started his boring Boring.
vince
Expanded Viewpoint counterpoint. They can install solar panels above the tubes to power any necessary vacuum equipment. Generating no pollution. And low cost once paid for.

I would never ride such a tube though. I would prefer a glassed tube not an enclosed tube. Since a round glass tube can easily accommodate a very high vacuum down to less than .01 atmospheres it should work. And glass is cheap to make with silicon being the major component.

Of course, damage by local idiots would be a problem so it's not practical. Never mind.
Adrian Akau
Why not just run a thousand small lasers pointing in front of the train to heat up the air directly in front, thereby reducing its density so that the air resistance would decrease and enable the train to run faster?
Smokey_Bear
The US needs high speed mag-lev trains, low pressure would be great, but isn't necessary. Ironically, the guy making EV's & rockets, is also the guy who could deliver this. Land rights is a much bigger deal in the US, then communist China.
So what do you do? Go under their land
The Boring company continues to make tunnels quicker & cheaper then their competition, and are in the process of connecting many building in Vegas, with an underground electric shuttle.
I'd like to see a US company contract the boring company to do a 100+ mile tunnel, connecting 2 major cities, then have a separate company built a mag-lev train.
Elon should tweet about that, and see if anyone comes a callin'.
solas
@Expanded Viewpoint - answer: almost none (energy expended to evacuate), because one evacuated, it remains evacuated. That is amortized over many, many, rides (entry is probably airlocks). I am also assuming that, like the HyperLoop, the train doesn't just float on mags (expensive), it floats on the low-air (near vacuum) instead. This is advantageous in that less energy is spent levitating using mags, and avoids trying to create a true vacuum (very slow, and very expensive).
Bottom line: the problem with these designs is safety (e.g. one sabotage point and the whole system stops), AND cost -- not of the tunnel, and train, but the fact that the entire network of stations, with proper airlocks and passenger throughput, has to be carefully designed.
Domric
It is a PARTIAL vacuum, as the Musk's hyperloop was designed for. A lot less energy and maintenance are required.
Musk gave it to the world, and the chinese, as usual, are building it.
JS
@Expanded Viewpoint - great question! all i know is my vacuum has a 90-91 amp initial draw on my battery bank at home before settling at about 68 amps while in use. ;)