China tests 500 kilometers per hour train

Well this should make a bigger crash than their high speed train crash last July. I dont see the point of such high speeds.Trains in the UK travel at 70mph. I am nervous when I travel by rail.

@ angi chiesa: 70mph? - that's odd - I live in the UK and regularly travel on intercity trains at 125mph. Faster ones have been built but not in common use as yet. We have also had train crashes and, like all countries, strive to improve safety records and minimise/eliminate such disasters. As for the point in speed, should we abandon jet air travel and go back to hot air balloons and the zeppelin?

ok sewer rat,I choose not to travel inthese high speed VIRGIN trains.I am not happy at speeds faster than 70mph.I fly to Bangkok several times a year No problem for me.I would love to fly in a modern airship,hydrogen filled.I was a fighter pilot in the 60s.You can keep you high speed trains

Wow did I write HYDROGEN filled...Meant HELIUM filled.Ok so I have a degree in engineering,so in my opinion the width,or guage,of the railways in the Uk are too NARROW for high speeds. Also there are often problems with the condition of the rails. A disaster waitng to happen

I wonder how many people died in the making.

ok sewer rat,I choose not to travel inthese high speed VIRGIN trains.I am not happy at speeds faster than 70mph.I fly to Bangkok several times a year No problem for me.I would love to fly in a modern airship,hydrogen filled.I was a fighter pilot in the 60s.You can keep you high speed trains I do wish you hadn't included the brand name Virgin in your response to my drivel. That bearded schoolboy thing that runs the show makes me a little embarrassed about my past patronage of his trains and planes. As for blimps (inflammable or no) I have never tried one, regarding high altitude dirigibles more... [More]

Thanks for the chummy reply.Interestingly you mentioned the sea.I have owned a series of sea goilg sailing cats.The last one was a high performance cruiser. Did you agree that our rail track is narrow for high speed. Even with banked tracks leaning carriages I would rather plod along for an extra hour. Thailand has very slow trains..wow sometimes 40mph.Narrow tracks so no hope of high speeds except for the new Bangkok overhead system.Take care Ratty

wow 500 km/h? I like that

Thanks for the chummy reply.Interestingly you mentioned the sea.I have owned a series of sea goilg sailing cats.The last one was a high performance cruiser. Did you agree that our rail track is narrow for high speed. Even with banked tracks leaning carriages I would rather plod along for an extra hour. Thailand has very slow trains..wow sometimes 40mph.Narrow tracks so no hope of high speeds except for the new Bangkok overhead system.Take care Ratty Yes, our track system is too narrow and just wrong for high speed stuff. I always thought the maglev idea worked best (like the airport shuttle th... [More]

Yeah, great Chinese accomplishments! Wonder if they even paid the labor to build the thing. At least they were fed....