With hypersonic jets and HS2 fast approaching, let’s delve into the processes of reaching the speeds we didn’t think were possible…

We’ve had the bullet train, cars going above 250 mph, and we’ve seen supersonic air travel come and go, so how much faster are we going to get?

Let’s begin with air travel, ever since the Concorde was disbanded in 2003, it has been a mystery in the back of most people’s minds whether this kind of phenomenon was going to return. You may remember the famous crash in July 2000. It was Concorde’s only ever fatal accident during its 27-year stint, however was ultimately one of the main reasons the fleet was grounded.

15 Years later, there is hope that supersonic commercial travel is set to return. The company “Boom Supersonic” have announced they are planning to build 1,451 miles per hour planes that will be ready for use by 2023. This incredible return would make trips from Europe to America a mere 3-hour journey (give or take a few minutes).

It won’t be as expensive as you’d think for such a re-development, with tickets planned on being prices at similar rates to that of a general business class ticket.

Rail Travel

With all the Brexit fuss and focus on immigration, there is still the curiosity over when HS2 is finally going to be built and ready. Initial plans to build a rail link from London to the West Midlands will incorporate trains that exceed speeds of 250 miles per hour. Some features include:

• 14 trains running per hour

• Up to 1,100 seats per train

• This initial phase could cost in excess of £22 billion

• UK Train stations could see growth with 20,000 jobs expected to be created

However the UK is still set to be beaten on speed by Japan within the next 10-20 years, with tests on a new bullet train. During the initial testing, the carriage reached speeds over 375 miles per hour, thanks to incredible use of electrically charged magnets to power the model along the line.

Due to Japan having an inefficient landscape, it plans to export the trains worldwide to revive the world’s 3rd biggest economy. Test riders stated the ride was “comfortable and stable”, in which 1.8km was covered within 11 seconds, some speed!

Written by Harrison Jones

References: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16090841 https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/these-planes-could-jet-you-around-world-hypersonic-speed-ncna843386 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16473296 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/21/japans-maglev-train-notches-up-new-world-speed-record-in-test-run