China takes on Hyperloop with 1000 km/h ‘super maglev’ train

Penney Vanderbilt and KC Jones: All About Railroads

The Next WebThe Next Web

Researchers at China’s Southwest Jiaotong University recently built a prototype for a “super maglev,” a track that carries a train at incredibly high speed using magnetic levitation (maglev). What makes it so super? According to the researchers it’ll be capable of supporting speeds up to 1000 km/h (600 MPH). That’s fast — in fact, it’s hyperloop-fast.

It’s the first high-temperature superconducting maglev test loop in China, according to local news site People’s Daily. The test track, a 45-meter loop, can handle up to 1,000 kilograms which is levitated over 20 millimeters above the track.

The researchers intend to build out the test track (or loop if you prefer) to send trains hurtling across China at near subsonic speeds. If successful, the super maglev would blow the current fastest train in the world, the Shanghai Maglev Train (431 km/h), out of the running.

And…

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Tweet Your Gripes About The Subway To The Man Who Runs It

Penney Vanderbilt and KC Jones: All About Railroads

NYCMTA

Straphangers are used to tweeting angrily from stalled subway trains with the hope that an MTA staffer will respond and explain why their commute’s screwed up. But they’ll have the chance to take their gripes straight to the top Thursday morning in a Twitter Q&A with New York City Transit President Andy Byford.

Byford will answer commuters’ questions from 10:30 a.m. to noon Thursday on the @NYCTSubway Twitter account. The online chat session will be the first ever for the head of an MTA agency and the first in a series of monthly opportunities for commuters to question Byford directly, the transportation authority said.

Straphangers can submit questions to Byford and Sarah Meyer, New York City Transit’s new chief customer officer, by using the hashtag #AskNYCT. Other transit officials will be involved in future sessions, the MTA said.

“I think it’s important to have regular and direct contact with…

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