Electric magnetic vacuum-tube blurs lines between train and aircraft

Is it a train? Is it a plane? No, it’s actually a new electric magnetic vacuum-tube.

Think of it a bit like the vacuum tubes seen in hospitals or old government buildings.

But instead of carrying paperwork, it will carry passengers instead.

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We’ve seen the biggest cruise ship ever made that’s setting sail this month, and even a Rolls-Royce hydrogen jet engine that could change flights forever – but this is something entirely different.

Canadian startup, TransPod, is in the process building the world’s leading ultra-high-speed ground transportation system, the TransPod Line.

The network system will have stations in key locations and major cities, featuring high-frequency departures designed to enable fast, affordable, and safe travel.

Operating on that network system will be FluxJet – a fully-electric, high-speed magnetic train that’s effectively a hybrid between a train and a plane, inside an electric magnetic vacuum-tube.

Apparently, FluxJet will zip along the line at 1,000 km/h (621 mph).

The crazy bit is, that’s not even its top speed.

FluxJet will reach a top speed of 1,200 km/h (746 mph) in a vacuum tube.

Just like a conventional train, FluxJet will travel at 90 km/h (55 mph) near urban areas.

However, when it heads out into rural areas, it will enter a launch booth, which creates a vacuum in the tube and uses a sort of air pump to propel the train.

After reaching a fast enough speed magnetic drives will active, allowing the train to maintain speed without the need to roll, thus avoiding friction.

“This milestone is a major leap forward,” said Ryan Janzen, co-founder and CTO of TransPod.

“The FluxJet is at a nexus of scientific research, industrial development, and massive infrastructure to address passengers’ needs and reduce our dependence on fossil-fuel-heavy jets and highways.”

So how much is new tech going to cost?

It’s a pricey project, costing about $18 billion, but the company has already secured funding of $550 million from US-based Broughton Capital Group, in cooperation with China-East Resources.

While the project’s costing an eye-watering sum, it will apparently create up to 140,000 jobd and add $19.2 billion to the region’s GDP throughout construction.

Add to that reducing travel time and cutting CO2 emissions by 636,000 tonnes per year, and it all sounds incredibly promising.