Urban Transport

Hyperloop One shows off full-scale test track

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The full-scale test track in the Nevada desert
The Hyperloop One test track under construction in Nevada
The Hyperloop One test track under construction in Nevada
Hyperloop tube segments waiting to be assembled into a full-scale test track
Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd accompanied his keynote address at the Middle East Rail conference in Dubai today with images of a full-scale test track in the Nevada desert
The full-scale test track in the Nevada desert
The Hyperloop One test-track is 500 meters in length
The Hyperloop One test track in Nevada has a diameter of 3.3 meters
The Hyperloop One test track under construction in Nevada
The Hyperloop One test track under construction in Nevada
Hyperloop One harbors ambitions of connecting cities across the Middle East
Bird's eye view: a rendering of what the a Hyperloop passenger terminal might look like
Bird's eye view of the full-scale Hyperloop One test track in the Nevada desert
A rendering of what the a Hyperloop passenger terminal might look like
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With a few different players now in the game, the race is on to win over governments and get the once seemingly far-fetched Hyperloop up and running. For LA-based startup Hyperloop One, that means rolling into Dubai with photos of its full-scale test track and a few renderings of what the first Middle Eastern Hyperloop terminals might look like.

Hyperloop One has been busy planting its fingers in different continental pies, with a view to one day using its ultra-fast transport system to move passengers all around the world. This has included agreements with governments in Russia, Finland and Dubai to explore the technology's potential on various scales, with the latter possibly growing to embody a new, blazing fast transport network across the Gulf region.

Hyperloop One harbors ambitions of connecting cities across the Middle East

To begin with, Hyperloop One has signed a deal with port operator DP World to conduct a feasibility study exploring the potential of the system to ferry cargo from container ships to a depot further inland.

But it is hoped that this is just the first step, with Hyperloop One harboring ambitions of connecting cities across the Middle East. This would include a 12-minute journey between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, a 139 km (86 mi) trip that currently takes around an hour and a half by road. But that's with little traffic. Hyperloop One reckons that 4,000 vehicles travel this route everyday, with the congestion costing the economy US$800 million in lost working hours.

The Hyperloop One test-track is 500 meters in length

To show how serious it is, Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd accompanied his keynote address at the Middle East Rail conference in Dubai today with images of a full-scale test track in the Nevada desert, along with a few renderings of Hyperloop terminals. Dubbed the DevLoop, the 500-meter long (1,600 ft) test track has a 3.3-meter (11 ft) diameter and sits 30 minutes outside Las Vegas.

Last year Hyperloop One held a public demonstration using a smaller, open air test track, where it showed off the propulsion system that will one day be used to shuttle passenger capsules through vacuum-sealed tubes at close to the speed of sound. It plans on conducting the first public trials using its new sealed test-track in the first half of 2017.

Source: Hyperloop One

View gallery - 13 images
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17 comments
Bob Flint
How long does it take to create the inside vacuum, and how do they plan on keeping it tight over hundreds of kilometers?
ljaques
What good is a short, straight test track like that? <scratches head>
watersworm
OK (maybe ?) for 500m... And so ?
Commontator
Why subsonic in a vacuum?
Helios
Apparently none of these designers and dreamers have ever taken economics. The marginal cost of less time traveling with this technology versus conventional rail or even mag. lev. trains has to be astronomical... diminishing returns.
Further, to my knowledge there is no technology advancement created as a result of the R&D with this project.
Lastly, on a human level, what is the psychological profile of someone like Elon Musk who can't find purpose or value in going slow (er)? I understand he can't take vacations, won't stop "working". Do we really want to follow such a person off the cliff of the emotionally wrecked? We have all heard of the proverb, It is the journey, not the destination. Life is what happens in the interstices of time, and you cannot ever "save" time, you can only spend it. Spend it wisely.
Bob Flint
Commontator, Why sub sonic, probably they don't have it down to complete vacuum, and second the track is too short to go any faster and stop...
anobium
Isambard Kingdom Brunel made a rail propulsion system in the 19C working on a similar principle. It didn't work mainly because rats ate the leather seals on the vacuum tube. Remnants of the Atmospheric Railway still exist.
fb36
Hyperloop is a train traveling at super speed in vacuum tube! The real version will be underground? Because if not I think it will be really dangerous in case of an accident or attack.
StevenMeyer
I've only ever seen examples of hyperloops over flat terrain. Would it work up hill and down dale?
LanceTurner
Some odd comments here, considering how early it is in the development phase for this tech. Simlar things were said about computers, mobile phones, microwave ovens and all manner of tech in the past, tech which is commonplace today. Seems some humans never learn.