The plans were ambitious. The vacuum tunnel must move at a speed greater than 1200 kilometers per hour People and goods are transported. And now they have finally failed.
Such as the Bloomberg financial news service mentionedThe American company will Hyperloop Oneand that too for a few years Virgin Hyperloop Called, filtered. The majority of employees have already been laid off. The company’s assets are expected to be sold by the end of the year.
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$400 million sunk
There were financial difficulties 2014 Companies have been established for a long time. The British billionaire was one of the donors Richard BransonWho retired from the company last year and is the port’s operator DP World From the United Arab Emirates. In total, more than $400 million has been spent on the Hyperloop One project.
Hyperloop
The high-speed transportation system is based on an idea from the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk From 2013 again.
The concept envisions the capsules moving through a system that uses electromagnetic levitation, similar to a magnetic levitation train. Almost empty tube Slipping.
In this way the speed reaches 1,200 km/h It can be achieved.
Originally, the futuristic pneumatic tube was intended to transport people between urban areas. There were also plans for Europe. A tour in Germany, for example, should be little more than a trip 2 hours It takes. However, only one was actually built 500 metres Long test track in the US state of Nevada.
Driving tests were conducted in the tube, which was planted in the desert around Las Vegas, starting in 2017. At least speeds of up to 400 km/h receipt.
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A capsule prototype for the Hyperloop One transportation system
© Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake
Shipping instead of people
Last year the company changed its direction. Instead of people, goods should be launched through hyperloop tubes. The first road was supposed to connect Europe and China. There was talk of a new high-speed silk road. Maybe it’s trash now.
But Hyperloop One is not the only company working on implementing the Hyperloop concept. Aside from test tracks, no one has succeeded in doing this yet.
© Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake
There is a lot open
There are open questions about security, for example. The regulatory issues and actual costs of construction have not yet been fully clarified.
American startup Hyperloop transportation technologies A few years ago, I also had plans to connect Vienna And Bratislava. The flight duration should only be 8 minutes.
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Other than declarations of intent, nothing has been heard of it since. Also in Holland And China Hyperloop systems are being worked on. Elon Musk has also recently shown interest in realizing his Hyperloop concept. Through his company’s tunnel Boring company He has dug under Las Vegas, but currently only drives electric cars from his company Tesla.
