Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) unveiled their Hyperloop capsule transportation system, which will compete with train and airline service, USA Today reported Sunday. The Hyperloop capsule, which was created in Los Angeles, will now be tested in France and eventually built in China and Abu Dhabi.
The train-like technology features a capsule independently suspended in a tunnel due to a magnetic force. The lack of friction in the absence of a track allows the capsule to travel up to 750 mph. Though Hyperloop creators do not see the capsule acting at its full speed initially, they expect the transportation system to average upwards of 400 mph. At this speed, it can take passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in only 36 minutes.
HyperloopTT CEO Dirk Ahlborn said the system may change the course of transportation as we know it. "We realized it has to be more than a company. It has to be a movement," he said. "You have the whole world talking hyperloop."
Though the capsule system cannot hold the same amount of passengers as a train or plane — each capsule holds 30 to 40 passengers at a time — the frequency of travel may allow it to become a coveted form of transportation. If 100 capsules are in the circuit, at the speed each capsule travels, it's possible for departing capsules to leave every 45 seconds.
Each capsule is sizable, at 105 feet long. The capsule's design is sleek and clean, the front end of the design thin. The concept was originally designed by Tesla co-founder and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, though HyperloopTT has no connections to the creator. Musk revealed his idea in 2013 according to NBC News.
HyperloopTT claimed the capsules will be ready for passengers in 2019. Ahlborn dismissed safety concerns.
"In just five years we have solved and improved upon all of the technology needed for Hyperloop with our new levitation system, vacuum pumps, batteries, and smart composites," Ahlborn said in a statement to CNN. "This capsule will be a part of one of the most efficient transportation systems ever made."
Rafael Contreras, HyperloopTT co-founder and chairman spoke confidently of the transportation system's future. "We have unveiled a new type of transportation vessel built with an industry high percentage of composite, which makes the Hyperloop capsule perhaps the safest transportation vehicle in the world," he said.
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