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Hyperloop One Announces 11 Possible US Routes, Completes Vegas Test Track (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
Thursday Hyperloop One executives announced that they've finished constructing their 1,640-foot-long "DevLoop" test track in the desert outside Las Vegas. But they also revealed possible U.S. routes for their high-speed transportation solution "to initiate a nationwide conversation about the future of American transportation" -- five of them suggested by state transportation department officials from Texas, Florida, Colorado, Nevada and Missouri.
Last May the company invited pitches for routes to various cities, and Thursday's 11 pitches were chosen from 2,600 participants. These 11 pitches will compete with 24 other pitches from around the globe to be one of the three chosen to "work closely with Hyperloop One engineering and business development teams to explore project development and financing." And Thursday they also announced that "by year's end the company will have a team of 500 engineers, fabricators, scientists and other employees dedicated to bringing the technology to life."
Click through for more information, and the list of the 11 U.S. cities being suggested for hyperloop destinations.
Last May the company invited pitches for routes to various cities, and Thursday's 11 pitches were chosen from 2,600 participants. These 11 pitches will compete with 24 other pitches from around the globe to be one of the three chosen to "work closely with Hyperloop One engineering and business development teams to explore project development and financing." And Thursday they also announced that "by year's end the company will have a team of 500 engineers, fabricators, scientists and other employees dedicated to bringing the technology to life."
Click through for more information, and the list of the 11 U.S. cities being suggested for hyperloop destinations.
- Boston-Somerset-Providence
- Cheyenne-Houston
- Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh
- Denver-Colorado Springs
- Denver-Vail
- Kansas City-St. Louis
- Los Angeles-San Diego
- Miami-Orlando
- Reno-Las Vegas
- Seattle-Portland
- Dallas/Fort Worth-Austin-San Antonio-Houston
"The event in the nation's capital is being billed as the company's official US launch," writes The Verge, noting the company's current feasiblity studies have been looking at the United Arab Emirates, Finland and Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Moscow, and the U.K. "Meanwhile, Hyperloop One's main competitor, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (also LA-based), is currently exploring building hyperloops in a half-dozen countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East." But the senior VP of global operations for Hyperloop One said this week that "We always thought that North America is going to be our biggest market globally."
Want to go from City A to City B at 500mph? No problem. We already have a complete infrastructure in place that will allow you to go from just about any city to just about any other city at high speed. It's called airplanes and airports and has existed since before you were born.
This method is uncomfortable (legroom), nauseating (turbulence), frequently delayed or cancelled (weather), with inherent capacity limits (airspace, runway space), and long lines for creepy invasive security checks (TSA) before you get on. High speed trains have none of that.
You should try taking a high speed train some time in Europe or Asia. The station is downtown, often right next to your destination or a quick subway ride away. You can arrive 5 minutes before departure and get on with no problems. There is no security check, just a guy at the platform entrance to check that you have a ticket. The train leaves exactly on time and arrives exactly on time pretty much every trip (and by "on time" I mean actually on time, not within the half hour padding that airplane schedules have to boost on-time rates). The ride is perfectly smooth and quiet, often with free wifi, and plenty of leg room. For trips of 150 to 400 miles, it's frequently the fastest option door-to-door as well. Just try this once, and I think your opinion of high speed rail will change.
Heck, they do this now with Large Hadron Collider
At an incredible expense. Plus that vacuum chamber has a diameter of a few centimeters. Now where near the two meter diameter hyper loop will require.