Virgin has shared more details about how it envisions its hyperloop and what is going to look like when ready, and from the promotional material, it resembles something very exciting for the future of transportation. The new clip that was released by the company shows pods traveling inside vacuum tubes at dizzying speeds, seamlessly changing direction using high-precision decoupling systems, and large-scale stations from where pods will begin their journey serving large volumes of passengers.
But the project isn’t only showcasing luxurious and comfortable cabins for passengers, as there will be freight pods too as it seems, levitating inside the tunnels thanks to dedicated engines and battery units supporting each pod. The transport speeds are purported to reach a maximum of 670 mph, or about 1080 kph if you prefer. This is airplane-travel-level speed, so trips like San Francisco to Los Angeles, for example, would take about 30 minutes.
Notably, the landmark bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the United States Senate a couple of weeks ago has placed Virgin’s Hyperloop technology in the eligible list for CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) and ATVM (Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing) funding, so the company will get some of that $1.2 trillion that has been allocated for infrastructure investment. This secures the future of the project and ensures that Americans will be among the first to experience the revolution of hyperloop transportation.
As for when that could happen, the goal is to launch commercial operations by the end of the running decade, which is roughly nine years away. The first series of extensive tests have been completed last year, but more are to follow as needed to prove the safety of the system at the advertised speeds and against the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) safety and regulatory framework.
