Imagine a train running at 4,000 km/h

The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp announced at a forum in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on Wednesday that it had launched research and development in hyperloop, a futuristic mode of transportation that could allow trains to run at speeds of up to 4,000 kilometers an hour. CASIC said they would design hyperloop in a way that would allow "vehicles" to run in low vacuum so as to minimize air resistance, and use magnetic suspension technology to minimize friction. Is hyperloop really possible? China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang interviewed an expert on the subject and translated CASIC's explanation about hyperloop. Excerpts from both follow:

Technology faces major challenges

Zhao Chunfa, a professor who specilizes in magnetic suspension trains at Southwest Jiaotong University