Hyperloop Update

At the Wall Street Journal’s recent Future of Everything Festival, transportation and travel were high on the list of topics being discussed by companies and legislators alike. As technology continues to transform our lives in amazing ways, getting from point A to point B remains as much of a hassle as it was decades ago. But a few forward-thinking companies are hoping to change that with hyperloop – a new mode of transportation that moves vehicles through tubes at high speeds and higher efficiencies than traditional modes of transport.

For example, Elon Musk’s Boring Company has built an underground tunnel from its headquarters in Los Angeles to a parking lot about one mile away to test out its concept for using autonomous vehicles to transport passengers while bypassing normal above-ground traffic. Additional projects in Los Angeles, Chicago and D.C./Baltimore are currently under review. Virgin’s Hyperloop One proposes a series of elevated tubes and underground tunnels that will use magnetic levitation to transport cargo and passengers at airline speeds. Its test track in Las Vegas is currently being evaluated before being tested by human riders. And Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (a U.S.-based startup) recently signed an agreement to build a test track in China.

In comparison to traditional rail, hyperloop does present both economic and engineering challenges on the front end. However, developers are confident that a lower cost to consumers will make it worthwhile in the long run.