A 4,000 km/h train is on the way—running inside a vacuum tube.

To attend the Third China (International) Commercial Aerospace Summit in Wuhan from Beijing, the reporter took the high-speed train, a journey of 1,152 kilometers that took just over four hours.

At this forum, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily learned that the “High-Speed Flying Train” project being advanced by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation could reduce the Beijing–Wuhan journey to under 30 minutes.

A one-hour economic circle will be formed within the country’s super city clusters.

Liu Shiquan, Deputy General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, stated that the high-speed flying train is a next-generation transportation system developed by CASIC in collaboration with leading domestic institutions, leveraging a commercial and market-oriented approach to integrate hypersonic flight technology with rail transit technology.

This train can reach a maximum operating speed of 4,000 kilometers per hour—more than ten times faster than conventional high-speed rail and five times faster than commercial airliners. With it, residents of Beijing could leave home shortly after 7 a.m. and still arrive in Wuhan in time for a 10 a.m. meeting. As the next-generation transportation system, this project is poised to spark a technological revolution that will fundamentally transform the way we live.

According to reports, the high-speed flying train is a transportation system that leverages a low-vacuum environment and a supersonic aerodynamic design to minimize air resistance, while magnetic levitation reduces frictional drag, thereby enabling near-ground, supersonic flight. Not only does it significantly shorten the spatial and temporal distances between cities, but it also boasts advantages such as independence from weather conditions, zero fossil-fuel consumption, and seamless integration with urban metro systems—making it a true trend and technological frontier in the future of transportation.

At such speeds, might passengers experience discomfort? Mao Kai, Assistant Director of the Third Department of the Third Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and technical lead for the High-Speed Flying Train project, told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that the project will design the most appropriate acceleration profile based on passenger comfort, ensuring smooth and linear acceleration and deceleration. “It will definitely be gentler than an aircraft’s takeoff,” he said.

Upon completion, this project will not only transform the way people travel but also reshape the economic landscape of China and the world, accelerating domestic resource allocation and giving rise to super-city clusters with one-hour economic circles. Operating within a vacuum tube Currently, three companies worldwide have publicly announced research into land transportation systems capable of speeds exceeding 1,000 kilometers per hour: U.S.-based HTT and Hyperloop One, as well as China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. While the two American firms started earlier, CASIC is the first in the world to propose a supersonic ground transportation system by leveraging aerospace hypersonic technologies, placing it at a higher starting point. In fact, maglev trains are nothing new; research on them has been underway both domestically and internationally for many years. But how will the high-speed flying train project achieve a leap in speed—from several hundred kilometers per hour to over a thousand, even several thousand? According to Mao Kai, most existing maglev trains operate in open-air environments, where they must contend not only with friction but also with air resistance. By contrast, this project will run inside a vacuum tube, creating a fundamentally different operating environment. Moreover, there are several types of maglev technology; for instance, the maglev train developed in Shanghai previously relied on German electromagnetic levitation technology. This project, however, has chosen high-temperature superconducting maglev—a technology for which China already possesses a solid foundation. Mao Kai explained that the development team is currently tackling a number of key technological challenges. For example, superconducting maglev technology, while promising, does not yet fully meet the project’s requirements and must be further refined. As for vacuum technology, China has accumulated considerable experience through its manned spaceflight program and other initiatives; nevertheless, no one has yet built a vacuum tube of this length, presenting significant manufacturing and technical hurdles. That said, he noted that, according to basic principles, as long as a net propulsive force is maintained between thrust and drag, the train can continue to accelerate—meaning that absolute vacuum is not strictly necessary; striving for it would dramatically increase both engineering complexity and costs. In addition, he pointed out that although many of these technologies have already been demonstrated in the laboratory, their transition to full-scale engineering implementation will be the project’s greatest challenge. The reporter learned that the project places great emphasis on leveraging the strengths of all stakeholders, having already brought together more than 20 domestic and international research institutions to establish China’s first international high-speed flying train industry alliance. The team now holds over 200 patents in related fields. Achieving the “4,000-kilometer” goal in three phases Mao Kai explained that the 4,000-kilometer target was set based on forward-looking assessments of technological feasibility, with the aim of best meeting future operational needs. However, this ambitious speed will not be attained overnight. The reporter learned that the project will be rolled out in three phased steps. The first phase involves establishing a regional intercity transportation network with a transport capacity of 1,000 kilometers per hour. “For example, routes such as Beijing–Wuhan–Shanghai, or Wuhan West–Chengdu and Wuhan South–Guangzhou—all fall within the 1,000–1,500-kilometer range,” Mao Kai said. The second phase will then build a national one-hour transportation network connecting major super-city clusters, with a transport capacity of 2,000 kilometers per hour. Finally, the third phase will leverage a transport capacity of 4,000 kilometers per hour to construct a Belt and Road–linked transportation network, thereby creating a new hallmark for China alongside aerospace, high-speed rail, and nuclear power. The reporter learned that the project has adopted the most promising technological pathways in terms of innovation, using breakthroughs in key technologies to ensure the system’s safety, viability, and cost-effectiveness; in terms of business model, it employs a “laying eggs along the way” approach, whereby the commercialization of key technological innovations enables continuous self-sustaining growth; and in terms of management, it continues to collaborate with leading domestic and international teams to maintain cutting-edge R&D capabilities.