Early tests show that hyperloop technology can work quickly and safely. Is it coming to a city near you anytime soon? Here's everything you need to know about the super speed train.
The two passengers strapped into their seats inside the gleaming white interior of the Pegasus as the pod lifted into the airlock. In the time it takes to finish reading this paragraph, the pod accelerated to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) down a length of track, before delivering its first passengers to a safe stop. The ride lasted only 15 seconds and was in no danger of breaking any land-speed records, but Virgin Hyperloop One nevertheless made history as the first company that has successfully tested hyperloop technology.
A hyperloop, as you may have heard, is a super speed ground-level transportation system in which people could travel in a hovering pod inside a vacuum tube at speeds as high as 760 mph (1220 km/h), just shy of the speed of sound. Virgin's system includes magnetic levitation, much like the technology used in advanced high-speed rail projects in Japan and Germany.
As a concept for fast transportation, vacuum tube transit systems have been around for a surprisingly long time. In 1845, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an engineer in Britain and the Elon Musk of his time, proposed building a tube in southwest England that would propel trains at a then-dizzying speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). The project proved unfeasible due to lack of materials that would sustain it, and Brunel’s concept was abandoned.
Despite Brunel's efforts, it was more than a century before Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk turned the world’s attention back to tubular transit technology. In 2013, he published a 58-page technical paper that outlined the design of Hyperloop, a solar-powered transportation system, which he described as "a cross between a Concorde, a railgun and an air hockey table."
Musk claimed that the vehicle could make the 350-mile (560-kilometer) journey between Los Angeles and San Francisco in just 35 minutes for $20 a ticket and estimated the cost of the infrastructure at $6 billion. He also said that the new transit system should be safer than any current mode of transport, immune to weather and resistant to earthquakes. Musk never devoted many resources to making the project a physical reality but released his Hyperloop Alpha as an open-source design for universities and companies to research and develop.
In 2014, Virgin Hyperloop was founded on the premise of making Musk’s vision of a futuristic transportation system a reality. The company has made substantive technical changes to Musk's initial proposal and chose not to pursue the Los Angeles–to–San Francisco route the billionaire envisioned. But Virgin wants to keep the futuristic vehicle environmentally friendly, with vegan leather seats and some of the pod materials made from recycled content.
How Does a Train-in-a-Tube Work?
At its core, a hyperloop system is all about removing the two things that slow down regular vehicles: friction and air resistance. To do away with the former, the pod needs to hover above its track, making hyperloop a magnetic levitation (maglev) train.
To put it in the simplest terms, maglev trains use two sets of magnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the floating train ahead, taking advantage of the lack of friction. Once two sets of magnetic waves are established, they work in tandem to push the vehicle forward, says Sam Gurol, former director of Maglev Systems at General Atomics, an energy and defense corporation based in San Diego, California.
“The advantage of maglev is that it allows you to go to very high speeds, in addition to having a very nice ride quality,” Gurol says. “It’s like riding on a magic carpet.”
The super speed of hyperloop, however, is achieved through drastically minimizing air resistance. Passenger pods move through a low-pressure sealed tube, which contains vacuums that suck out nearly all of the air. The air pressure inside the chamber is so low that it mimics the conditions of being at about 200,000 feet (61,000 meters) above sea level. By virtue of being in a tube, the system is protected from the weather and can operate in almost any weather conditions.
Examining the Hyper Problems
Although the technology addresses problems of friction and air resistance, hyperloop projects have suffered from a different kind of drag: economics. Financial and transportation experts have expressed the belief that Musk’s $6 billion price tag dramatically understates the cost of designing, developing, constructing, and testing an all-new form of transportation. Leaked financial documents in 2016 suggested that Musk’s Hyperloop would cost as much as $13 billion, or $121 million per mile.
Like any form of transit, hyperloop transport carries inherent risks, and contingencies for any unforeseen disasters still need to be engineered into the system. At high speeds, even a small earthquake or the slightest breakage of a vacuum tube would pose a significant danger to passengers and crew. In addition to safety assurance, a hyperloop system must offer the kind of pricing that would draw paying passengers away from current modes of transportation.
With large-scale projects like this, good engineering needs to co-exist with good politics. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Gurol’s company collaborated with a German firm Transrapid to build a maglev-based high-speed train from Las Vegas to Anaheim. In 2007, former U.S. Senator Harry Reid (Nevada), became the Senate majority leader and decided the state had more important priorities.
“That’s the kind of political change that can just reverse any progress. Hundreds of engineers and fifteen years of work, and the project just died.” Gurol says.
According to Financial Times, in 2018, Saudi Arabia pulled its $1 billion deal with Virgin Hyperloop after the company’s ex-chairman Richard Branson criticized the kingdom over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Still, as of May 2019, the company had raised $400 million from private investors and plans to begin commercial operations in 2030 (pushed back from early predictions that envisioned a passenger-ready hyperloop in 2021).
Besides Virgin, the companies working out the hurdles of this transportation method include the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT), a U.S.-based startup that signed an agreement in China to build a test track, Hardt Hyperloop in the Netherlands and TransPod, a Canadian company.
Until these companies raise hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, acquire the massive tracts of land needed for a viable system, and prove that the system can be operated safely, hyperloop remains a near-future dream.
What Is the Hyperloop?
The hyperloop is a train-like transportation design that can achieve breakthrough speeds. Hyperloop technology is still in development. With projected speeds of up to 750 miles per hour, it would be two to three times faster than bullet trains. Riders could travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 30 minutes.
Hyperloop Design:
- Enclosed chambers can carry travelers or freight.
- Low-pressure tubes reduce aerodynamic drag.
- Magnetic levitation (maglev) keeps each pod hovering above the track while it’s in transit.
- Electric propulsion moves each pod through the tube.
What’s the History of Hyperloop Transportation?
The transportation concept has been around since the 17th century, but the term “hyperloop” was coined by Elon Musk in a 2013 project brief. Musk open-sourced the idea, outlining his concept without any patents. This has led to several companies becoming major players in hyperloop R&D, and even students are building prototypes.
As a result of having so many players working on hyperloop development, the speed of innovation has accelerated. Just as the space race in the mid-20th century created a competitive push to reach the moon, the open-sourcing of hyperloop technology has created a competitive fervor for a new mode of transportation.
How Does the Hyperloop Go So Fast?
A hyperloop is able to reach extreme speeds because it addresses one of the most basic rules of physics—friction slows things down.
Hyperloop designs rely on creating a low-friction environment within a tunnel or tube. Individual pods seating a small group of people could then travel at extreme speeds through the tubes.
The hyperloop travels via an efficient electric motor, and friction is reduced in two ways:
- Depressurized tunnels create a near-vacuum environment where almost all of the air has been sucked out. This creates an environment where extremely high speeds are possible because there’s minimal aerodynamic drag or wind resistance.
- Magnetic levitation (maglev) causes each pod to hover. This removed the ground friction of wheels or tires that occurs in other modes of ground transportation. This technology is already being used in high-speed bullet trains. In the image above, the magnets in red are for levitation and propulsion. The magnets in blue are for horizontal stabilization.
There are two maglev methods currently in development for hyperloop applications. Passive maglev uses a specific configuration of magnets that perpetually create current and keep the pod consistently hovering. No external power is needed. In another design, active maglev combines permanent passive-style magnets with electromagnetics. This makes it possible to adjust the current to smooth out the ride.
Which Companies Are Working on Hyperloop?
Several companies and research labs are working on hyperloop systems or components. Here are four of the biggest players in the industry.
1. Virgin Hyperloop
Attribution: @virginhyperloop – Twitter Virgin Hyperloop (formerly Hyperloop One) is one of the best-funded hyperloop projects, giving it the most resources for R&D. It’s also leading the pack in patents, and in 2020, it completed the first-ever hyperloop passenger test.
One of its main feasibility studies was how to connect Kansas City and St. Louis, MO, with a hyperloop track along the I-70 corridor. The company is currently designing full-scale pods that would hold 28+ passengers. The final infrastructure would have the ability to move 30,000 passengers an hour.
The company’s timeline is to achieve safety certification by 2025 and carry passenger traffic by 2030. This year, the company will start construction on a $500 million Hyperloop Certification Center in West Virginia that will have a mile-long test track.
2. Hyperloop TT
Attribution: @hyperlooptt – Twitter Hyperloop Transportation Technologies isn’t going it alone. The company has teamed up with other partners in construction and infrastructure. Hyperloop TT may not have as much capital as Virgin Hyperloop, but its business model is to have a broader strategy that builds a coalition with existing industries.
Hyperloop TT has a test track in France. It plans to build a hyperloop between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the track becoming operational by 2023. In the U.S., the company is planning to have an operational hyperloop by 2028, connecting Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. This route could potentially unify the region’s labor market while reinvigorating regional manufacturing because of the ability to quickly transport goods.
3. SpaceX Elon Musk Hyperloop
Attribution: Engadget – YouTube Despite Elon Musk having sparked the current hyperloop fervor, Tesla and SpaceX are not doing hyperloop development. Instead, Musk put the challenge out to the world to develop the technology. However, Musk is still involved in the industry. He built a hyperloop test track near SpaceX HQ for student competitions.
Additionally, Musk’s tunnel-digging company could benefit from hyperloop development. The Boring Company could be involved in building underground tunnel infrastructure. Currently, Musk is looking at hyperloop tunnel projects that would connect NYC to Washington, D.C., as well as Los Angeles to San Francisco, and a third tunnel within Texas.
4. JTC20
Attribution:@zeleros – Twitter In 2020, a consortium of European and Canadian hyperloop companies became another big player in the industry. Collectively working on the issue of international standardization, this joint technical committee will look at regulation, interoperability, and safety. The group includes Hardt Hyperloop (Netherlands), Hyper Poland, TransPod (Canada), and Zeleros Hyperloop (Spain).
What Are the Safety Risks?
Despite the ambitious progress that’s already been made, we are still in the early stage of hyperloop development. Before hyperloop transportation can become a reality, there are clear safety risks to overcome.
- High speeds:
The first hyperloop passenger test reached a top speed of 107 mph in 6.25 seconds. We still don’t know the effect that extreme acceleration within an enclosed chamber will have on the human body. Astronauts train their bodies to handle extreme acceleration, and PBS wondered if the hyperloop experience will be “two minutes of puke city.”
- Collisions within the vacuum tubes:
Hyperloop system designs have multiple pods traveling at very high speeds within a single tube. Because the pods are within the braking threshold of one another, there’s the risk of a very dangerous collision.
- Hyperloop pod damage:
Obviously, humans need air to live, and the tunnels do not have breathable air. Engineers need to address the safety of a situation when the pod becomes compromised.
- Tunnel decompression:
Because the tunnel is a near-vacuum, a break in the structure would cause it to implode. For example, look at what happens if the air pressure of a railroad tank car vacuum is compromised. The damage is nearly instantaneous.
These safety concerns just scratch the surface. Engineers will have to plan for all sorts of contingencies like heat expansion, earthquakes, or human error. In particular, California and Missouri are the worst places in the country for earthquakes, making seismic safety a major concern for those two hyperloop routes.
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