This is a project presented by a Chinese team at the 2011 edition of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (IRCA), in Shanghai. It really caught my eye when I saw it, but there is not a lot to say about it, since they just unveiled it, and I'm not able to understand their website (click here to see it).
The Aero Train uses the aerodynamic interaction between its wings and the ground for its propulsion. It should be able to go at speeds around 200 km/h, about half the speed of other high-speed trains we have nowadays. However, as the presentation picture shows, it is a green train, as there is no energy loss in friction with the rails. There are other trains that do not rely on rails to move, because of this energy loss, maglev trains, that allow travel up to 430 km/h, quite a lot faster, but the use of high-power electromagnets to make the train levitate above the track consumes a lot of energy.
It is tricky to control - it moves a lot because there is no friction, and one would have less control over its movement, therefore, the prototype is controlled by computers for now, and it will be kept stabilized in a U-shaped channel.
I hope to see one of these flying trains one day, maybe in the next few decades.
Here is a video of the prototype:
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