China challenges Elon Musk’s Hyperloop with even faster 'flying train'

Chinese Aerospace firm is taking on Elon Musk by revealing that it is working on a super-fast ‘Flying Train’. The so-called Flying Train is expected to reach even higher speeds than Elon Musk's revolutionary Hyperloop One.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp reportedly working on a transit system that can travel at speeds close to a whopping 4000 kilometres per hour. CASIC’s Chief Engineer Mao Kai informed about this new vehicle in the state run China News Service.

The 'flying train' concept is essentially a passenger pod that uses magnetic levitation and travels through a near-vacuum tube, as CASIC manager Liu Shiquan explained to Chinese media. The concept is similar to that of the Hyperloop, a futuristic high-speed transportation system envisioned by Elon Musk in 2013.

In comparison, Hyperloop can achieve barely half the speed (1,200 kph).

China has turned some far-out transit ideas into tangible realities in the past. The country also boasts a bullet train that tops speeds of 300 mph (483 kph).

No definitive date has been set for the launch of the 'flying train'.

If the new concept train actually starts working, it will be capable to reach 4 to 5 times the speed of an average jetliner.