In November, Washington, D.C.'s Department of Transportation granted the Boring Company a permit to excavate at a parking lot within the city:
Washington, D.C., has issued a permit allowing Elon Musk's Boring Company to do preparatory and excavation work in what is now a parking lot north of the National Mall. The company says the site could become a Hyperloop station.
The permit, reported Friday by the Washington Post, was issued way back on November 29th of 2017. The permit is part of an exploratory push by the city's Department of Transportation, which according to a spokesperson is examining the feasibility of digging a Hyperloop network under the city. The Hyperloop is an as-yet theoretical proposal to use depressurized tubes and magnet-levitated pods to move passengers at very high speeds.
From The Washington Post:
Asked about the permit, issued Nov. 29, a Boring Company spokesman said Friday that "a New York Avenue location, if constructed, could become a station" in a broad network of such stops across the new system.
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) visited the Boring Company in California this month, walking in a tunnel to learn more about the technology the company says will make tunneling faster and cheaper.
The District's Department of Transportation is figuring out what other permits the Boring Company would need to cut under city roads and other public spaces, according to Bowser's chief of staff, John Falcicchio.
Previously: Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
NY-Philly-Baltimore-DC Hyperloop: Not Vaporware?
Related: Hyperloop Pod Competition Winner Exceeds 200mph (324 km/h)
Sir Richard Branson Invests in Hyperloop
Elon Musk's Boring Tunnel Near Los Angeles
Elon Musk's Boring Company Sells Flamethrowers
Related Stories
You'd better get that in writing:
A plan to build an ultrafast Hyperloop [
One] tube train has been given "verbal [government] approval" to connect large cities on the East Coast, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk says. He adds that the system would whisk passengers from New York to Washington, D.C., in 29 minutes.After his tweet about the plan set off intense interest, Musk added a clarification, stating, "Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly."
We're seeking more details from Musk and his companies that are involved in the Hyperloop project — from the vehicle unit to the Boring Co., which would dig the tunnels. He did not specify, for instance, which agency had given its approval or when construction might begin.
Engineers who are working on the project have the goal of sending pods through a tube at speeds of more than 700 mph, using magnetic levitation and an electric motor in a vacuum environment.
The Boring Company's mundane tunneling plans may have been a red herring to distract from underground Hyperloop development.
Is this how Muskmania dies? With an undeliverable promise of multi-billion dollar infrastructure? Or will Musk deliver a transportation system faster than the highest-speed rail, create the world's most valuable car company, and build a Hyperloop on Mars designed to transport him from the ice caps to his throne (crafted from the disinterred bones of Steve Jobs) at Olympus Mons?
Adjacent to SpaceX headquarters, 25 teams gathered for another Hyperloop Pod Competition. This time the winner would be judged by how quickly they could go down the 1.25 kilometer (about .77 miles) track. On the final day of competition, three teams advanced to the finals and had the chance to push their pod to the limit.
With a speed of just over 200 miles per-hour, the Warr (pronounced Varr) team from the Technical University of Munich handily beat the two other finalists with its small, but quick pod. Weighing just 80 kg (176 pounds) and powered by a 50kw motor, the vehicle was essentially a small electric car built specifically for winning the competition.
[...] At the end of the competition, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk mused that there's no reason why future pods in the competition couldn't hit 500 to 600 miles per-hour on the 1.25 kilometer track. Of course that means that there will be another Hyperloop Pod Competition sometime next year and who knows, maybe we'll see pods hitting the speeds that'll make the mode of transportation truly rival air travel.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/27/hyperloop-pod-competition-winner-hits-200-mph/
Richard Branson, the billionaire behind the Virgin brand, has reportedly invested an undisclosed sum in Elon Musk's barmy Hyperloop supersonic tube train project.
Beardy gets to join the Hyperfruitloop board, according to the Beeb, and the firm will also add its ubiquitous Virgin moniker to Musk's firm's name, meaning it will now be known as Virgin Hyperloop One.
The rebrand and ascension of Branson to the board suggests that a large sum has made its way from billionaire Beardy into Hyperloop's coffers, though terms of the deal were not revealed.
"Ever since our creation, Virgin has been known for disruption and investing in innovative companies," burbled Beardy's PR flunkies. "Importantly, Virgin Hyperloop One will be all-electric and the team is working on ensuing it is a responsible and sustainable form of transport too."
"Virgin Hyperloop?"
Elon Musk's Boring Company has received permission to dig 10.1 miles of tunnel in Maryland:
On Thursday, Maryland officials gave Elon Musk's Boring Company permission to dig a 10.1-mile tunnel "beneath the state-owned portion of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, between the Baltimore city line and Maryland 175 in Hanover," according to the Baltimore Sun.
According to Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn, The Boring Company (which Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk founded to advance tunneling technology) wants to build two 35-mile tunnels between Baltimore and Washington, DC. The federal government owns about two-thirds of the land that Musk's company would need to dig underneath. As of Friday, it was unclear whether that permission had been granted. (A Department of Transportation spokeswoman told Ars that the land in question was owned by the National Park Service, which did not immediately respond to request for comment.)
But the 10 miles that have been approved by the state of Maryland will for the first leg of an underground system that could contain a Hyperloop system. Musk first floated the idea of a Hyperloop—which would ferry passengers through a low-pressure tube in levitating pods floating above a track using air-bearings—in 2013. But the CEO determined that he didn't have time to see his idea through to fruition, so he issued a white paper and challenged startups and students alike to make headway on the concept.
Also at The Washington Post (archive).
Previously: Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
Elon Musk has released an image showing a tunnel under Hawthorne, California, near SpaceX's headquarters:
Musk's LA tunnel is a pilot project designed to test the feasibility of his plan to dig tunnels at a lower cost and more efficiently than current tunnel boring companies operate, with the eventual aim of supplying cities and regions with underground tunnel networks that can transport goods and services while avoiding surface obstacles and traffic.
The Boring Co. is still a long way from achieving the grand vision of constructing inter-city underground Hyperloop tubes for high-speed travel, but it's making rapid progress on its initial test digging and tunnel construction, which should go some way to proving to its detractors that this is more than just a pipe dream.
Also at Engadget and The Verge.
Previously: Elon Musk Wants to be Boring
Tunnel to 'Underworld' Discovered Beneath Mexican Pyramid
Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
NY-Philly-Baltimore-DC Hyperloop: Not Vaporware?
Elon Musk wants to sell you a flamethrower for $500 — and it seems to be legal in California
Elon Musk, the mastermind behind PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, has another innovative product up in his sleeve: a $500 flamethrower. Musk announced the flamethrower on Saturday, after weeks of teasing a possible flamethrowing product for his newest venture, The Boring Company. The Boring Company's mission is to excavate a low-cost but fast-digging tunnel through Los Angeles to help alleviate its notorious car traffic.
Musk's announcements on Instagram and Twitter about the flamethrower has all been in tongue-in-cheek tone, but his legions of followers have lapped up the chance to buy a flamethrower from The Boring Company. Over 2,000 people have pre-ordered the device so far, according to Musk on Twitter.
Pre-orders are expected to ship in the spring, according to The Boring Company's website. "When the zombie apocalypse happens, you'll be glad you bought a flamethrower," tweeted Musk. "Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!"
The California Health and Safety Codes 12750 to 12761 outline that owning or selling flamethrowers is illegal without a permit granted from the state fire marshal, joining Maryland as the only two states in the country to have flamethrower regulations. The state has defined flamethrowers as "any nonstationary and transportable device designed or intended to emit or propel a burning stream of combustible or flammable liquid a distance of at least 10 feet." But since The Boring Company's flamethrower emits fire less than the defined 10 feet, they did not have to get a permit to sell, according to the company's spokesman.
At time of this story being posted, the pre-order count had climbed to 10k.
Update: One California lawmaker wants to ban the flamethrower. But it's puny compared to other flamethrowers.
Also at CNN, MarketWatch, and CNET.
Related: Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
NY-Philly-Baltimore-DC Hyperloop: Not Vaporware?
Elon Musk's Boring Tunnel Near Los Angeles
Elon Musk to Compete for High-Speed Rail Loop in Chicago
Elon Musk's Boring Co. Wins Chicago Airport High-Speed Train Bid
Elon Musk's Boring Co. is the winner in a bid to build a multibillion-dollar high-speed express train to O'Hare International Airport, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The result gives the young company a big boost in legitimacy as it tries to get transportation projects underway in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The company beat out a consortium that included Mott MacDonald, the civil engineering firm that designed a terminal at London's Heathrow Airport, and JLC Infrastructure, an infrastructure fund backed by former basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson, said the people, who declined to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. The city is expected to announce the news as soon as Thursday, one person said.
It's a sizeable victory for a company that was launched just 18 months ago, is working with unproven futuristic ideas, and—aside from a test tunnel it is digging in the Los Angeles suburb Hawthorne, California—lacks construction experience.
Also at Chicago Tribune, CNBC, and The Verge.
Previously: Elon Musk to Compete for High-Speed Rail Loop in Chicago
Related: Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
Washington, D.C. Granted Elon Musk's Boring Company an Excavation Permit for Possible Hyperloop
Elon Musk pitches $1, 150 MPH "Loop" Rides under Los Angeles
Elon Musk's Boring Company unveils bricks being produced from dirt dug in its tunnels
Elon Musk's Boring Company has been releasing side products mostly unrelated to the company's main purpose, like hats and flamethrowers. The latest product has more to do with boring tunnels since they plan on selling and/or giving away bricks made from dirt dug in the company tunnels.
The Boring Company is now showing a glimpse at how the bricks are being produced. They estimate that the cost of moving the dirt can represent up to 15% of the total cost of a tunnel, which is why they want to turn the dirt into a product itself.
Musk claimed that the bricks are more solid than cinderblocks and he suggested that the company could sell them for just 10 cents in order to get rid of the dirt.
Related: Company Proposes Giant Concrete 'Lego' Bricks to Build Houses 80% Faster
Washington, D.C. Granted Elon Musk's Boring Company an Excavation Permit for Possible Hyperloop
California's Efforts to Restrict Elon Musk's Flamethrowers Go Down in Flames
Elon Musk's Boring Company Wins Chicago O'Hare International Airport Transportation Contract
The Boring Company's LA test tunnel is almost complete
Today, Elon Musk announced via Twitter that the first Boring Company test tunnel under Los Angeles is almost finished. When it's complete, the system will be able to carry pedestrians, cyclists and private vehicles at speeds of 155 mph. People will be able to try the loop out for free at a special event at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, on December 10th.
Also at LA Times, The Verge, and The Washington Post.
Previously: Elon Musk's Boring Tunnel Near Los Angeles
Elon Musk pitches $1, 150 MPH "Loop" Rides under Los Angeles
Related: Washington, D.C. Granted Elon Musk's Boring Company an Excavation Permit for Possible Hyperloop
Elon Musk's Boring Company Wins Chicago O'Hare International Airport Transportation Contract
Elon Musk's Boring Bricks
Local leaders cooling to Boring Company tunnel promises
Virginia state transit officials are telling The Boring Company "thanks but no thanks," at least for now. The Virginia Mercury reported yesterday that the state's chief of rail transportation, Michael McLaughlin, was not sufficiently impressed by his recent visit to Elon Musk's test tunnel in California to recommend that the state work with the startup.
"It's a car in a very small tunnel," McLaughlin reportedly told the state's Transportation Board public transit subcommittee this week. "If one day we decide it's feasible, we'll obviously come back to you," he added.
[...] In February, Musk tweeted that the company was working on improving its test tunnel. "Focus right now is getting to high speed, tight follow distance in test tunnel," the CEO tweeted. He said that "Line-Storm," The Boring Company's second-generation boring machine, would start getting updates "in a month or so."
But even as The Boring Company says it's trying to improve on tunneling efficiency and design, Chicago may be looking to take a step back from the express line that Mayor Rahm Emanuel pledged to build with the company. The mayor's office announced in June 2018 that it would work with The Boring Company to build a long-awaited express line between O'Hare International Airport and the Windy City's downtown area.
Previously: Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
Elon Musk's Boring Tunnel Near Los Angeles
Washington, D.C. Granted Elon Musk's Boring Company an Excavation Permit for Possible Hyperloop
Elon Musk's Boring Company Wins Chicago O'Hare International Airport Transportation Contract
Elon Musk's Boring Bricks
The Boring Company Announces Dec. 10 Debut for First Los Angeles Tunnel
The Boring Company Won't Pursue Los Angeles Tunnel Under 405 Freeway
Elon Musk Startup Picked to Build Las Vegas 'People Mover'
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fyngyrz on Monday February 19 2018, @01:28AM (15 children)
Washington DC used to be a swamp. It's interesting that they're seriously considering significant underground infrastructure incorporating very high speed transit. Assuming this permit for a parking lot is based on serious intent, rather than just some showmanship.
Is suppose it's better than the crazy idea of putting such tunnels in notoriously earthquake-prone regions.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Monday February 19 2018, @01:55AM
Seems like a very questionable assumption.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19 2018, @02:00AM (3 children)
Washington DC used to be a swamp.
Don't worry, it's being drained...
(Score: 2, Funny) by Sulla on Monday February 19 2018, @02:17AM
Trump literally draining the DC swamp to build a hyperloop technically counts as achieving a campaign promise
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2, Funny) by Revek on Monday February 19 2018, @02:10PM (1 child)
They were planning on draining the swamp until they realized that scum floats on top.
This page was generated by a Swarm of Roaming Elephants
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 20 2018, @08:45PM
So THAT explains his cabinet head choices!
(Score: 5, Informative) by Grishnakh on Monday February 19 2018, @02:09AM
Washington DC used to be a swamp. It's interesting that they're seriously considering significant underground infrastructure incorporating very high speed transit.
Well, the Washington Metro subway system is already built underground, and pretty deep too in some places.
I guess when there's water, you just dig deeper: after all, the Channel Tunnel goes under the English Channel, which is a lot wetter than any swamp. There's tons of tunnels going under rivers, even rather old ones like the Lincoln Tunnel in NYC, which crosses under the Hudson.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by khallow on Monday February 19 2018, @02:11AM (6 children)
What's so crazy about the idea? More relevantly, what's the actual risk?
Suppose a really big earthquake happens? The downside is destruction of the transit system in areas near the fault and some potential loss of life. That's not that big a deal. In exchange, you get years or decades of operation of the Hyperloop. And after the aftershocks settle down, you can rebuild the broken parts of the Hyperloop for decades to centuries more operation.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Arik on Monday February 19 2018, @03:59AM (5 children)
Don't forget removing the corpses.
Being in this thing during a quake would not be anything like being in a building during a quake.
You're moving so fast that the slightest brush with anything and it'll be like a big bomb went off.
Nostrils-scattered-all-around as the Klingon poets put it.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday February 19 2018, @04:58AM (3 children)
Or not removing them. There's precedent for not removing deeply buried corpses from earthquakes. For example, in the 1957 Hebgen Lake earthquake is thought to have buried 19 people [earthmagazine.org]. Their bodies were never recovered.
It'd likely be safer, unless you happened to be right at the fault zone. Remember they can brake these vehicles hard with the warning that typically would accompany an earthquake as long as they aren't right on top of the zone where the earthquake is happening. For example, at 5 G deceleration, one can stop a 1200 kph vehicle in six seconds (and about 2-3 km stopping distance).
(Score: 2) by Arik on Monday February 19 2018, @05:07AM (2 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Monday February 19 2018, @05:17AM (1 child)
Stop them in the above very tight precision, flood the tube with air, and have the travelers walk to emergency exits. Not that complicated.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Monday February 19 2018, @11:21AM
But...but, it's a loop! A HYPER loop: if people walking out met themselves walking in......
Splosion!
Black hole!!
Mighty high-fives!!!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 19 2018, @07:35AM
What corpses, dear?
Ah, you meant that red bloody mucus oozing from what remained from a carriage stopped suddenly from a speed of 300 mph by the unyielding force of the rocks that collapsed the tunnel?
Don't worry, nothing a good waterhossing can't do with in a quarter of a hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19 2018, @05:17AM
Ahem, Tokyo Metro [tokyometro.jp].
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday February 20 2018, @12:15AM
I've been from Leicester Square to Waterloo on the Tube, so I went under the Thames. Wasn't a problem, thousands do it every day.
Your point about earthquake prone areas makes a lot more sense.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19 2018, @03:21AM (9 children)
If they aren't high enough the cost per passenger is going to be a lot higher than for normal light rail which can carry up to 20,000 passengers per hour.
Or is the real end game about public money being used to subsidize a high speed shuttle for rich people and their friends?
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday February 19 2018, @03:29AM (2 children)
If the risk profile means there is no TSA groping on the hyperloop, then the viability is better, as the choice is plane-with-TSA, or hyperloop without.
If the TSA get involved, then it won't be able to compete - rich people will use private helicopters or private planes.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 19 2018, @07:44AM (1 child)
When push comes to shove, it's easier to down a helicopter than to collapse a tunnel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday February 19 2018, @08:18AM
ROI for single explosive. If you get lucky, the plane or helicopter hits a building.
If the hyperloop goes pop, thousands could die.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Arik on Monday February 19 2018, @03:57AM (1 child)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 19 2018, @07:40AM
How many of who exactly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday February 19 2018, @04:56AM (2 children)
Are we talking through a section of rail/tube, or passenger loading/unloading?
Through a section of tube, some rough numbers:
20,000passengers/hour / 10-20 passengers per car = 0.55 to 1.1 seconds between cars = 350 to 175 yards between cars at 700mph. That'd need some pretty fine automated coordination to pull off, but then if you've got demand for that sort of passenger carrying load you could potentially form ad-hoc trains as well, though that would increase peak load concentrations. on the tubes.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19 2018, @09:27AM (1 child)
20000 passengers per hour with 40 passengers per capsule = 500 capsules per hour = 7.2 seconds between capsules = 2.2 km between capsules.
20 passengers per capsule = 1000 capsules per hour = 3.6 seconds between capsules = 1.1km between capsules.
Assume capsule loading time of about 5 minutes you need about 40 to 80 "departure platforms" at a main station to keep up the throughput. Similar for arrival platforms.
The original number was 840 passengers per hour though: http://www.uschyperloop.com/hyperloop/ [uschyperloop.com]
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday February 19 2018, @04:40PM
You're right - I have no idea how I got an extra factor of 3.3 in my calculations.
As for the loading platform that's a completely different question - unless all those passengers are coming/going to the same station, there's no need for them to pass through it at all. That's one of the big draws of smaller car sizes, is you can just load everybody from station A heading to station M, and send them there directly, with no need for transfers or other stops along the way. At which point track capacity becomes a question of how well you can coordinate traffic splitting and merging.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday February 19 2018, @06:58AM
Once you use up all your bus subsidies the only thing you can do is spend your light rail subsidies.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday February 19 2018, @05:34AM (4 children)
How deep do you have to go before you leave private, city, and state jurisdictions?
How is it the federal government can offer rights to build underground anywhere outside of DC proper?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 19 2018, @07:54AM (3 children)
https://www.gizmodo.com/2014/08/if-you-own-land-how-far-above-and-below-do-you-own/ [gizmodo.com]
Theoretically, there's never a piece of the underground where the ownership ceases.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by chromas on Monday February 19 2018, @08:37AM (1 child)
I get a 404 but I'm picturing a Cone of Ownership™ with the point centered on the Earth's core and extending outward to Infinity and Beyond.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 19 2018, @10:20AM
Try this: https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/08/if-you-own-land-how-far-above-and-below-do-you-own/ [gizmodo.com.au]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Monday February 19 2018, @08:49AM
As usual, there is some variety of regulations across the world:
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/12/napoleon-bonaparte-and-mining-rights-in-france/ [loc.gov]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday February 19 2018, @06:56AM (2 children)
Most of that train's time will be spent at stations waiting for passengers to get off or on the train.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by inertnet on Monday February 19 2018, @12:37PM (1 child)
I don't think that would be a problem if you consider a two way system, one tube for A to B, another for B to A.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday February 19 2018, @11:14PM
Or out of line loading bays.
All solved problems.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.