The need for speed

China has launched the fastest ground vehicle in the world – a bullet train capable of hitting speeds of 600 kilometres per hour, which could make travel between cities faster than flight. The work of local engineers, the maglev train reaches full throttle using electromagnetic force, with the train itself ‘levitating’ above the track with no actual contact with the rail. Using this new method of transportation, it would only take 2.5 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai, a journey that takes three hours by air. cnto.org.au