Ever since the first steam locomotives chugged down the tracks, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors have sought to make rail transportation faster and more fuel efficient.

Japan’s famous shinkansen, or “bullet train,” for example, achieves speeds of up to 200 mph in part because of its distinctive, aerodynamic nosecone inspired by the kingfisher’s beak. Maglev trains, which use magnets to levitate and whoosh down nearly friction-free tracks, could one day zip commuters between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md., in 15 minutes – if the federally funded experiment can overcome environmental, engineering, and cost hurdles. The Northeast Maglev  would go a long way toward relieving the region’s congested roads, particularly Interstate 95 that connects the nation’s capital and New York City. But while the project has proponents, it remains technically and economically challenging.

Such ambitious technologies pale in comparison to the Hyperloop, which seeks to propel passengers and freight in small pods along an elevated vacuum tube at 600 mph or faster. That’s roughly the speed at which jets cruise!

The concept – which derives from the “vactrain” first proposed by noted space engineer Robert Goddard when he was a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the early 1900’s – counts several visionary entrepreneur-investors among its biggest backers. Among them: Physicist Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla, and music mogul Richard Branson, whose enterprises include Virgin Galactic, the space tourism pioneer.

Musk’s Hyperloop, first publicly mentioned in 2012, now has a mile-long test track at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters that is used for a pod-design competition for university students. (The next competition, with 21 teams from around the world, will take place July 21, 2019.) The system involves pressurized capsules that ride on air bearings driven by linear-induction motors and axial compressors. Musk’s initial vision was for a system that would speed passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco at 760 mph, cutting the commute to 35 minutes.

The plan was dismissed as impractical. Even if the technology could be worked out, the costs seemed prohibitive – $6 billion was Musk’s estimate at the time. Moreover, the system could be vulnerable to power outages and other glitches.

Since then, however, at least two commercial companies—Virgin’s Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies—have emerged.

In late 2016, Hyperloop One became first to ink a commercial deal, announcing plans to build a Hyperloop link in Dubai, from the country’s airport—the world’s busiest—to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Riders would zip along the 102-mile route in a mere 12 minutes. Other countries considering Hyperloop tracks include Russia, Finland, and Britain. The company also is working on a Heartland Hyperloop proposal to connect Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo., along the I-70 corridor. The first feasibility study, completed last year, noted several desirable features of the proposed site, including a long stretch of flat, federally owned land on which to build 250 miles of track – at an estimated $30 to $40 million per mile.

Meanwhile, Hyperloop Transporation Technologies recently built the world’s first Hyperloop passenger pod. (See video, below) Engineers envision a central station and elevated tube system that can handle 3,600 passengers per hour.

It may be decades before travelers can hop a pod and zoom across town – let alone across the country. But Hyperloop technology is clearly gaining traction.

This post, published May 10, 2019, reflects reporting by Thomas K. Grose for a short feature in the December 2016 issue of ASEE’s Prism magazine. Cover illustration from Hyperloop Transportation Technologies 

Filed under: Special Features

Tags: Civil Engineering, Elon Musk, hyperloop, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, maglev, Physics, public transportation, railroad, shinkansen, SpaceX, train, transportation engineering, Virgin Gallactic