Elon Musk wants to take his train to Chicago.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur tweeted Wednesday that his Boring Company would compete to design, fund, build and operate a high-speed loop connecting O'Hare Airport with downtown Chicago.
Musk's statement came after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for proposals to build and operate a high-speed rail line that will whisk passengers from the airport to downtown in 20 minutes or fewer, cutting travel times in half. Contractors will also have to figure out how to finance it without taxpayer dollars, Emanuel said.
The L already connects O'Hare and Midway airports to downtown Chicago.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Saturday December 02 2017, @12:27AM
I am having trouble finding the article but I did read an economist agreeing with your mentality. More specifically: identify high volume routes for replacement, with the example being the LA to SF corridor. I'm skeptical of the hyperloop from an engineering point of view, but identifying routes that already have the passenger traffic to support high speed rail is a good starting point.
I do like your idea of direct integration with the airlines. As much as I hate security, allowing a seamless transfer from airplane to hyperloop really would help adoption. Perhaps the first real test site should be connecting two neighbouring airports like you are suggesting. I wonder how "land" easements would work for OAK to SFO, as you could put a lot of the infrastructure over the bay.