The future of transport? 'Floating' hyperloop train hits a record-breaking speed of 387mph - and could outpace a plane one day

For over a century, humans have relied on planes to drastically cut the time of domestic journeys. 

But imagine hopping aboard a train that gets you to your destination even faster than any commercial plane. 

That's potentially the reality awaiting China in the next few decades, as the country has hit a major milestone in the bid to introduce ultra-high-speed train travel. 

Its 'T-Flight' train has reached a record speed of 387mph on a short test track – even faster than Japan's MLX01 Maglev, the world's fastest train in operation (361mph). 

However, Chinese engineers hope it will reach a whopping 1,243mph once commercialised – way faster than the speed of sound and more than twice the speed of a Boeing 737 plane.

China's T-Flight is a maglev train - meaning it uses magnets to lift the carriages above the track

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At such a speed, the T-Flight train could go from Wuhan to Beijing in just 30 minutes, rather than over four hours like current high-speed trains. 

T-Flight uses magnetic levitation (maglev) technology, where magnets are used to lift the pods above the track, letting them seamlessly glide. 

This eliminates the need for wheels and therefore any incidence of friction, providing a faster and quieter service. 

T-Flight would be a hyperloop train, meaning it would transport people at top speeds in tubes between distant locations. 

The concept – first proposed in 1910 by US engineer Robert Goddard – received renewed interest in 2013 due to a white paper by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

T-Flight has been built by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). 

In tests in Datong in the northern province of Shanxi, T-Flight reached 387mph (623kph) in a low-vacuum tube measuring just 1.2 miles (2km) long.

The T-Flight train reached a record speed of 387mph on a short test track - even faster than Japan 's MLX01 Maglev, the world's fastest train in operation (361mph). Pictured, a model of T-flight supersonic train on display during an exhibition in Beijing, May 2023

Japan's MLX01 Maglev (pictured) is currently the world's fastest train in operation, with top speeds of 361mph

In a second round of testing, CASIC aims to extend the track by more than 30 times so it can reach faster speeds, Live Science reports. 

It ultimately aims to build a tube system between Wuhan and Beijing – a distance of more than 650 miles (1055km) – which could cut the journey time down from four hours to half an hour. 

However, this could be many decades away from happening due to the costs and practical issues – akin to the UK's beleaguered HS2 rail line. 

It's unclear how much is being spent on the project; MailOnline has contacted CASIC for more information.  

If T-Flight does reach 1,243mph once commercialised, it would vastly outpace trains currently in operation around the world, not to mention planes.

Japan's Bullet Train goes along at 275mph, while the Eurostar reaches 186mph and most UK trains operate at around 125mph.  

It would even be faster than NASA's latest high-speed experimental aircraft, the X-59, which the agency says is capable of cruising at 937mph. 

However, T-Flight wouldn't quite match Concorde, the last supersonic aircraft to fly, which could go at 1,350mph. 

Already, China has high-speed 'Fuxing' bullet trains, but they do not use the maglev technology and they operate at a top speed of 350 kilometres per hour (217 miles per hour). 

China has high-speed 'Fuxing' bullet trains, but they do not use the maglev (magnetic levitation) technology. Pictured, Fuxing train departing from Fuzhounan Railway Station

However, China does have the world's first commercial maglev system.

The 18.6-mile stretch, opened in 2002 in Shanghai, connects Shanghai Pudong Airport and the city centre and cost more than £1 billion to build. 

On the line, trains runs up to 431 kilometres per hour (267 miles per hour) and is the world's fastest commercial train system to date.

The world's fastest train was built by Japan, but it has yet to be put into commercial use.

Operated by Japan Railways Group, the maglev train set the world record after reaching 374mph (603kph) on an experimental track in 2016.

China has more than two-thirds of the world's high-speed railways

Passengers board a 'Fuxing' high-speed bullet train on Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line before it leaves the Cangnan railway station on November 20, 2017 

China has the world's largest high-speed railway network, which measures a staggering 35,000 kilometres (21,747 miles) as of 2019, according to China Central Television Station.

The distance is more than two-thirds of the world's total.

The country's total railway coverage is 139,000 kilometres (86,370 miles), enough to wrap the Earth three times by the equator.

China is investing heavily in the construction of its rail system. 

It plans to spend no less than 2.8 trillion yuan (£307 billion) building no less than 23,000 kilometres (14,291 miles) of new railways between 2016 and 2020, according to a government plan. 

Xinhua News Agency reported that Beijing completed its largest-ever investment in railway construction between 2013 and 2017.

Nearly 30,000 kilometres (18,641 miles) of tracks, more than half of which are high-speed rail, were complete at a total cost of 3.9 trillion yuan (£428 billion). 

The country's newest high-speed train model is 'Fuxing', or 'Rejuvenation', which runs at a speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour.

The model before 'Fuxing' is called 'Hexie', meaning harmony.