The train track that bends to change routes

A closer look

Traditional trains change routes with a simple flick of a metal switch, but floating at 430 km/h requires a much more dramatic flex. Because the Shanghai Maglev train wraps completely around its guideway to levitate, it physically cannot use standard rail intersections. Instead, to change tracks, a massive 100-meter section of solid steel and concrete guideway is physically bent into a new curve by giant hydraulic actuators. It is a gloriously over-engineered brute-force solution: if the train cannot turn on the track, you just hydraulically warp the entire track until it points exactly where you want to go.