Posted on 03/30/2016 5:24:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Vienna to Bratislava in 8 Minutes
In 2013, Elon Musk’s SpaceX revealed the concept for a high-speed ground-transport system, dubbed the Hyperloop, which would travel around 700 mph and deliver passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 35 minutes. The idea: to create a faster, cheaper, safer and more environmentally conscious transit option — one in which pods travel through tubes with near-zero air pressure, and which is eons ahead of the hell that is Interstate 5. Three years later, however, the California Hyperloop is still a far cry from coming to fruition: SpaceX is currently holding an open competition “to design and build the best Hyperloop pod.” But in Europe, things appear to be moving a lot faster.
In March 2016, a startup called Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) inked a deal with the Slovakian government to build two Hyperloops that would link three European capitals. Vienna to Bratislava would be an eight-minute trip covering 35 miles, while Bratislava to Budapest would cover 100 miles in 10 minutes.
Slovakia is one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies, so the idea of having a revolutionary transportation system makes sense. Also, unlike California, Slovakia will have an easier time handling tough political issues that face the multi-billion-dollar project of building a Hyperloop (such as securing land rights).
If all goes according to plan, the first stage of the Slovakia Hyperloop, which will be within Bratislava, will be completed by 2020. And despite falling behind in this battle for high-speed transit supremacy, Americans, especially Californians, should be crossing their fingers that this European Hyperloop is a success. Why? With this Hyperloop serving as a beta test for all future high-speed ground-transport systems, this means a 35-minute L.A.-to-San Fran commute is one step closer to be becoming a reality.
O.K., just as long as they don’t hire Elon Musk to do it.
But in Kalifornia we have Gov. Moonbeam’s Train to Nowhere.
It’s like mag-lev on steroids.
“They’ll be Spandex Jackets, one for everyone.”
What seems most remarkable about the hyperloop isn’t the maximum speed, but the acceleration. HIgh-speed trains don’t work well in the DC-Boston corridor because there are too many stops. The Acela can go 150 MPH, but averages only 72 MPH because of the stops. (84 MPH if the boarding times are subtracted.) Yet the DC-Boston corridor has several times the population of California, and a maxed out airspace. So why build a hyperloop in California? Planes suffice.
Boston::Providence::New London::New York::Newark Airport::Philadelphia::Baltimore::DC
I meant Bridgeport, not New London.
What is this obsession to connect SF and LA? What is the commonality? LA to Anaheim, San Diego and Vegas makes much more sense.
Stop? Who wants to stop? ;’)
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