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The Hyperloop, detailed by the SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk in a 57-page alpha white paper in August 2013, is a transportation network of above-ground tubes that could span hundreds of miles. With extremely low air pressure inside those tubes, capsules filled with people would zip through them at near supersonic speeds. Musk published the paper encouraging anyone interested to pursue the idea, since he's kinda a busy guy.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced today that it has signed agreements to work with Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum and global engineering design firm Aecom. The two companies will lend their expertise in exchange for stock options in the company, joining the army of engineers from the likes of Boeing and SpaceX already lending their time to the effort.
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The startup plans to start construction on a full-scale, passenger-ready Hyperloop in 2016. The prototype will run 5 miles through Quay Valley, a planned community rising from nothing along Interstate 5, midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Ahlborn says he's got several potential investors.
The hyperloop would certainly redefine the concept of commuting.
Related: SpaceX will hold a Hyperloop Pod Competition in 2016.
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by snick on Thursday August 20 2015, @11:12PM
... a train carrying 300 people breaks down inside the tube 100 miles from anywhere?
Long haul enclosed trains would require an _incredible_ amount of safety and maintenance support, that just isn't getting factored in during the gee-whiz phase.
(Score: 2) by SubiculumHammer on Thursday August 20 2015, @11:24PM
There is probably no part of Central CA that is 100 miles from nowhere, anywhere, if by nowhere you mean a town with at least 25,000 people.
(Score: 2) by snick on Thursday August 20 2015, @11:30PM
By anywhere I mean a facility with the staffing and equipment to safely evacuate the train before the folks inside cook, and clear the track ... errrm, tube. Sure, there will be cows within 100 miles, but that won't help (much?)
(Score: 1) by Francis on Thursday August 20 2015, @11:44PM
It might as well be the middle of nowhere. It's going to be incredibly high up and the local population isn't going to have the tools or expertise to get in there and help.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by korger on Friday August 21 2015, @02:46AM
I'd much rather travel in a train that might break down, than in a plane that might break down. When an engine failure occurs, trains would normally just slow down to a halt, and waiting for a rescue team 100 miles from anywhere always beats crashing into the ground at terminal velocity from 13km above. Besides, European and East Asian practice has evidence that trains have an excellent safety record. Obviously this Hyperloop is new technology, which initially comes with increased risks, but it has the same potential for safety nevertheless, once the technology is perfected.
(Score: 2) by snick on Friday August 21 2015, @02:21PM
Don't be so sure. You are sealed inside a tube inside another tube. The outside air temperature is over 100deg many days. Hopefully the low air pressure in the outer tube will limit heat conduction to the train, but if by "break down" I mean AC/air pressure/air circulation system goes offline, and help is 100 miles away, you might find yourself wishing you were in a disabled plane with a chance of gliding to a safe landing.
Every train I have ever been on has self service emergency exits everywhere. The process of evacuating a hyperloop train can't even start until a section of the tube is isolated and pressurized. Then you need to get out of the train. THEN you need to get out of the tube. THEN you need to climb down the tower. (sucks to be very young/old/disabled)
I'm not saying that the technology is inherently unsafe. What I'm saying is that responsibly planning for outages will be prohibitively expensive in terms of evacuation facilities built into the tube/train and maintenance/safety facilities every X miles along the line (where X is calculated by the time it would take to reach and evacuate a disabled train vs how long (worst case) people could be expected to remain in a disabled train)
A demo loop that stays within a geographically compact area is going to make it look a lot cheaper than it will actually be.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2015, @06:34AM
I thought you were going to ask "What happens when a train leaves San Francisco, heading north at a speed of 350 miles an hour. Another train leaves New York traveling south at 246 miles an hour...."