Korail confirmed in a recent statement that its test model of the “Hyper Tube” superfast train reached a monstrous speed of 1.000 kilometers per hour.
The Korea Railroad Research Institute (Korail) recently announced the extraordinary result obtained from its 1:17 scale test model of the Hyper Tube superfast train. The maximum speed achieved by the prototype was an impressive 1.019 kilometers per hour (621 mph).
This is the normal speed reached by passenger aircraft. And it's twice the speed of the fastest (record-breaking) land transport currently available, the Maglev magnetic leavening train.
In his Press release, Korail said:
“We have overcome the problem of vehicle handling obstacles caused by rapid friction acceleration in the throttle section of the aerodynamic test system. With these measures we exceeded the speed of 1.000 kilometers per hour.”
How does the Hyper Tube bullet train work?
Korail has been working on the Hyper Tube bullet train project since 2017 and its previous top speed was 714 km / h. It plans to further develop the technology to begin full-scale development of tracks and vehicles in 2022.
Hyper Tube travels by combining the effect of powerful magnets with a closed, semi-pressurized environment to reduce friction.
It reminds me of something
I would be lying if I said that this Hyper Tube superfast train doesn't remind me at all of the Hyperloop that recently tested its passenger cabin.
There are many similarities with Elon Musk's idea then granted as a "free license" to other operators.
It is no coincidence, therefore, to observe the ambitions of Korail and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. Both can implement a large-scale hyper-metro network for the bullet train by 2024.
The future of the bullet train? A super-fast network
The cities and routes involved are increasing from month to month. In Korea, for example, similar technology reduces the travel time between the cities of Seoul and Busan from 3,5 hours to around 30 minutes.
Elsewhere in the world, countries that have expressed interest in implementing similar infrastructure include the United Arab Emirates (Dubai-Abu Dhabi route), Saudi Arabia (various routes), the United Kingdom (various routes) and India (Mumbai-Pune).
