Urban Transport

Hyperloop One floats 11 potential routes for first US system

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Hyperloop One also revealed that it has added the finishing touches to its 500-meter long test track (0.3 mi) in Nevada
Hyperloop One
Hyperloop One is just one of the transport companies vying make the futuristic transport system a reality
Hyperloop One
Hyperloop One also revealed that it has added the finishing touches to its 500-meter long test track (0.3 mi) in Nevada
Hyperloop One

Much of the buzz around potential Hyperloop systems of late has centered on how they might first make tracks in countries outside the US, but for its latest announcement, startup Hyperloop One is looking much closer to home. The LA-based company has today outlined 11 potential routes for Hyperloop routes in the US that it says would massively reduce transport and cargo time through the nation's more heavily used passages.

Hyperloop One is just one of the transport companies vying make the futuristic transport system a reality. First described in an Elon Musk white paper in 2013, the Hyperloop would shuttle passengers and cargo through low-vacuum tubes at close to the speed of sound, a velocity made possible by the minimal aerodynamic drag inside.

Hyperloop One has agreements to explore the feasibility of such a system with Russia, Finland and Dubai, among others, but this week it is turning its attention to US soil. Presenting at the Vision for America Conference today, the company has outlined a set of potential routes for a US Hyperloop system that would link more than 35 states.

Hyperloop One is just one of the transport companies vying make the futuristic transport system a reality
Hyperloop One

Such a network of high-speed transport tubes is a ways off yet, however. The 11 proposals are finalists in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge which kicked off last May and drew more than 2,600 participants. The 11 will be whittled down to three teams, who will then work with Hyperloop One's engineers to explore further development.

The proposals under consideration include a 121-mile (194 km) route from San Diego to LA, a 257-mile (413 km) route connecting Miami and Orlando, a 640-mi (1,029) "Texas Triangle" and a monster 1,152 mi (1,853 km) route between Cheyenne and Houston that would run through four states. This final example would cut a 17-hour car trip to a one-hour and 45 minute journey.

Hyperloop One also revealed that it has added the finishing touches to its 500-meter long test track (0.3 mi) in Nevada, which will function as a testbed for its propulsion, vacuum, levitation and control technologies.

Source: Hyperloop One

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10 comments
There U Are
If they really want to ease traffic and congestion, then the Northeast Corridor should be considered.
zr2s10
So instead of actually getting bullet trains (proven worthwhile in Japan for decades), we're skipping ahead to this. It sounds intriguing, but I think their biggest hurdle is going to be creating, and maintaining, a vacuum in tube sections that are hundreds of miles long. I don't know what pressure they're looking to maintain, but most vacuum pumps are very power hungry, and not particularly fast. They will likely consume more power than the actual propulsion unit itself. And the "load lock" valves they will need, man, those things will be impressive... Vacuum creates less stress than high positive pressure, but maintaining it is very tricky, especially with the addition of moving parts.
MikeHingle
Hyperloop Busted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNFesa01llk
Lardo
So we have all these "pods", zipping around inside these tubes, at close to the speed of sound. Couple of questions;
1) Assuming there is more than one pod in a tube at one time, what kind of distance, between them, must be maintained? To be safe 7 all.
2) So you step into one of these pods and take your seat. What kind of process is need to merge this currently stationary pod with the pods moving at near Mach?
You can't just drop it into the tube, can you? I mean, at the speed of sound, the pod coming up from behind would smack right into it before it could barely get going. Right?
ThorLui
If this only carries one person at a time, it would be very expensive to buy a ticket. Not a very practical way to travel.
Richard D. McDowell
Who the hell wants to go from Houston to Cheyenne? Houston to Dallas or San Antonio/Austin/Dallas & back Maybe ?
noteugene
uh-uh, don't care to be crammed into a dark tube. If they don't make it out of glass......forget about it.
Plaw
To build this you are going to need a very efficient tunneling machine in some places. I hope someone is working on that.....doh!
nehopsa
@MikeHingle not really:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4wck43/hi_were_mostly_engineers_here_at_hyperloop_one/d65vo9b/
Charles Barnard
A more useful image would be a map of those routes.
Frankly, Florida is not a smart place to build anything underground, neither is Texas. Why anyone wants to travel between Cheyanne and Houston...other than oil execs involved in fracking, I don't know, but unless it was really, really cheap, I can't see a market in most places.
I'd rather see them rebuild the rail system, and someone please pay some attention to getting places other than the coasts. Huge chunks of America are not easy to move between, and some areas are so cheap that getting to an airport is the most expensive part of the trip.