Hyperloop One

​​Virgin Hyperloop One has expanded its relationship with Saudi Arabia, with the two announcing plans to develop a new test track in the country’s west. The facility would become the world’s longest hyperloop tube as the gulf nation eyes a wider rollout of the futuristic transport system.​

Billed as the first such study in the US, the results of a feasibility study into Missouri Hyperloop are now in and outline some of the potential benefits stemming from a proposed route along the existing I-70 highway. ​​

Spain is set to receive a shiny new facility for the development of next-gen transport, with Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop One reaching an agreement with local authorities to open a research center in the region of Andalusia, in the country's south.

​Virgin Hyperloop One has welcomed the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to a test facility in the Mojave Desert, showing off a specially branded passenger pod as the county looks to accelerate its efforts to get the futuristic transport system up and running.

​Virgin Hyperloop One has been making inroads in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a little while. Now it has unveiled a prototype pod developed together with Dubai's transport authority, offering locals a little glimpse at a potential future of subsonic tube travel.

Together with the local government, Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop One has today announced plans to build a 25-minute Hyperloop connection between the Indian cities of Pune and Mumbai, which is currently a two-hour trip by car.

​A fully functional Hyperloop system remains years away, but that hasn't stopped one of the startups vying to build it bringing out an app for folks to book a ride. Virgin Hyperloop One has rolled up to this year's CES with a demo version of an app designed to handle the entire passenger experience.

Virgin Hyperloop One has set a new speed record at its Nevada test center. An unmanned test pod reached a speed of nearly 387 km/h (240 mph) while running through an evacuated cylinder depressurized to the equivalent air pressure at an altitude of 200,000 feet (37 mi, 61 km).

Thanks to Sir Richard Branson, Hyperloop One is now Virgin Hyperloop One. The rebranding was announced by the Virgin Group founder and CEO on his blog, in which he said that the change follows an undisclosed, but substantial investment by Virgin in the US-based transportation start up.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MDOT) is the latest government body to latch onto the idea of supersonic tube travel, heading up a coalition of public-private partners to push for the construction of a hyperloop that would allow for a 25-minute trip across the length of the state.​

There are a number of startups working on Elon Musk's Hyperloop, but none are gathering quite the momentum of Hyperloop One. The company has today announced US$85 million in new funding, as it looks to move forward with the development of routes around the world.

Hyperloop One's Global Challenge is an XPrize-style competition to draw out the globe's brightest ideas for the most promising Hyperloop routes. The company has today announced the 10 winners, with potential routes spanning three continents and more than 6,000 km (3,700 mi) worth of track.