Hyperloop & HSR

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Hyperloop transportation may become a reality. It may be cheaper and faster than other ways to link distant cities. But doubters are not convinced, and seemingly the state of California doesn't care whether it's better or not.

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California is building a high speed rail (HSR) project between Los Angeles and San Francisco for about $70 billion. Elon Musk thinks HSR is a poor choice: too expensive and too slow. So in 2013 he proposed the breakthrough idea of hyperloop, estimated at $7 billion, for this route.

Last year, an author at Investor's Business Daily agreed with Elon: 

"In the five years since Musk issued his hyperloop document, California has made precious little progress on its bullet train. The state's latest report pushed the completion date back four years — to 2033 — and hiked the cost by another 20%." 

Yikes, 2033?

"Hyperloop One [VHO] estimates it would take just 43 minutes to go from Los Angeles to San Francisco on a hyperloop. That compares with nearly three hours on California's high speed rail."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Design a pod

If you have been thinking about a cool hyperloop pod design, the time has come for you - just submit your design here at the new hyperloop website put up by SpaceX, open-sourced.  SpaceX is building a test track on which to test those designs a year from now, June 2016.

Two years ago in August (2013) Elon Musk revealed his proposal for the transport plan - even though neither he nor his companies are developing a commercial hyperloop:

"While we are not developing a commercial Hyperloop ourselves, we are interested in helping to accelerate development of a functional Hyperloop prototype."

Two startups did begin development and both of them plan to build test tracks. If I were in their shoes, I'd have to wonder exactly when and to what extent I might soon be competing with Elon Musk.

(cont'd tomorrow)

H-1 update 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Virgin Hyperloop One (H-1) uses magnetic levitation. One set of magnets lifts the passenger pod off its track, while the other set propels the pod forward. The low pressure vacuum-sealed environment within the tube provides very little resistance, enabling the pod's high velocity.

DP World, which operates in forty countries, is Virgin Hyperloop One's largest investor. Its CEO, Mr. Bin Sulayem, is H-1's Chairman of the Board.

Government permits and regulations will be a hurdle to overcome in every locality that sponsors this innovative new transport system. Getting governments to participate with and support making hyperloop a reality will be essential.

An important step toward that goal has been reached in the U.S. by Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation. Just this month she announced the "Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology Council" to propel the process forward on the national level.

"Hyperloop is a new mode of transportation that is built for the 21st century,” said Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One. “We want to be the company that spearheads the next giant leap forward in transportation here in the United States but we know we can’t do it alone. We applaud the DOT for their support of this technology.”

(cont'd tomorrow)

HSR & Hyperloop

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

An editorial (2018) at Investor's Business Daily says, "Hyperloop Is Running Circles Around California's 'High Speed' Rail Boondoggle." 

The CA train project is years late and billions of dollars over budget. But the state government continues to throw huge amounts of taxpayers' money into it. (The question begs to be asked: why?)

Meanwhile, progress on the hyperloop idea has moved at breakneck speed. New and innovative though it is, the idea has already generated at least two companies (VHO and HTT) which are developing the technology and moving ahead with multiple projects. Get some background here.

When it comes to business, central-planning-by-government is not best. California's HSR linking San Francisco and Los Angeles looks like a waste of resources.

"In contrast, private investors risking their own money aren't going to build hyperloop systems that are endlessly over budget and that won't attract significant ridership. And when they do see an opportunity, they won't take two decades to build it. 

"If you want an example of the benefits of private investment vs. central planning, hyperloop is a powerful one."

Branson quits

British entrepreneur Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines) invested a large amount of money in Hyperloop One (H1) about a year ago and became its chairman, changing the name of the company to "Virgin Hyperloop One" (VH1).

He said, "I was very impressed and now look forward to helping turn this cutting edge engineering into a global passenger service." 

About the same time, they partnered with Saudi Arabia to build a working hyperloop, which would be the first in the world and very exciting for fans of the hyperloop concept.

All of that is now over.

Branson has quit as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, and has quit talks with Saudi Arabia about the possibility of their investing $1 billion in other of his businesses.

Why? Branson made his decisions "in light of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed inside the consulate in Istanbul.."

(cont'd tomorrow)

H1 and Branson

(con't hyperloop update from yesterday's post)

**go here if you need info on "hyperloop"**

Hyperloop One has $50 million of new funding, and English entrepreneur Richard Branson is its new chairman. The company is now called "Virgin Hyperloop One" (Branson's airline is called "Virgin").

He said, "this groundbreaking technology will change transportation as we know it and dramatically cut journey times . . and I look forward to making history together."

The company has gained a lot of strength since its startup in 2014. Its competition is Elon Musk's Boring Company - though he originally said he would not start a hyperloop business.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince met with Branson during his American tour to discuss the possibility of building a route in his country. 

photo: latestarabnews.com

(cont'd next Monday)

H-1 update 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Virgin Hyperloop One seems on its way to success in India as well. The State of Maharashtra has given it some official sounding terms, and there's a project to run a hyperloop from Pune to Mumbai.



CEO Jay Walder thinks India has a lot to gain when they get this project done. Population density is a key indicator for a hyperloop transport project, and India has plenty of population density. 

Drive time from Mumbai, India's most populous city, to Pune is about three hours. The hyperloop would make it in 30 minutes. Below is a photo of traffic between the two cities:

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TX Hyperloop

Yes, Richard Branson has quit as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One (VH1) and it was probably a hit to the industry. But the hyperloop industry is far from done. VH1 still has a future.

HyperloopTT (HTT) and VH1 are both considering projects in the U.S., especially in Texas. According to a VH1 executive, "It's a very large state with pretty vast distances between metro areas that are densely populated. It's kind of perfect territory for Hyperloop . . ."

The growing area of Dallas-Fort Worth may be part of a triangle route also connecting Houston, Laredo, Austin, and San Antonio - a route of about 640 miles. 

Naturally there are problems, and there are skeptics who don't think the problems can be overcome. A handful of new companies trying to develop new ways of doing things - that's innovation. Americans have a strong tradition of figuring out a way to succeed.

Dick Ahlborn of HTT believes in competition. "In the end, it's a good thing that the more you have, the more likely everyone is passionate to bring this to light. We all benefit," he says. "If we fail, someone else will do it right."

I love that spirit.

H-1 update 1

The hyperloop idea has roots in the past, but Elon Musk made it exciting in 2012. He publicized his vision and promoted public competitions for prototype designs.

A hyperloop system's obvious advantage is its speed. It is ground transport that moves potentially at air speed, maybe as fast as 600+ mph. 

Several startups formed to pursue making hyperloop a reality. One of them took the lead in getting investment funds and making progress: Virgin Hyperloop One.

Here is a good summary of where the concept stands now:

(cont'd tomorrow)

Still a thing

 Hyperloop transportation was proposed by Elon Musk as a new form of transportation in 2012. He didn't want to do it himself (create a company to make it a reality) but others did take the idea and started creating it "from the ground up." Progress is slow, but hyperloop is still a thing.

Multiple layers of government have to be onboard to make this new concept happen. They want assurance of safety, economic viability, cooperation from their voter bases, etc. 

It's so appealing: to move passengers or cargo between big cities safely at near-air-speed, with no carbon emissions or exhaust, nearly noise-free, and at affordable cost. (Go to label "Hyperloop" for background.) Pods move through near-vacuum tubes using magnetic levitation.

A new study in the U.S. evaluates the feasibility of building a hyperloop to link Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh. 

(cont'd tomorrow)

More hyperloop

Remember "hyperloop?" It's a super fast transportation concept promoted (but not originated) by Elon Musk, pods carrying passengers or cargo either through underground tunnels or on rails above ground. Magnetic force would power the pods at great speed.

It was always going to take a long time to develop technologies and get governments on board, and no system operates yet in spite of research and feasibility studies. 

One of the two remaining companies working on the vision, Hyperloop One, laid off a hundred staffers a year ago and famous investor Richard Branson backed out with his Virgin brand. Now they've abandoned the goal to move passengers and will focus on cargo.

Hyperloop TT, the other company, still pursues transporting people. One of their projects is to link cities Chicago-Cleveland-Pittsburgh in the Great Lakes Corridor.

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Still a thing 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Pittsburgh is over seven hours by car away from Chicago (467 miles). That's an all-day trip, which will cost you $26 - $51 just in gasoline. If you need to make that trip, would you pay  about $93 . . to be there in 75 minutes?

Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) sponsored a study to answer questions like that, to find out if it would be worthwhile to build a hyperloop system to connect these cities.

The study found that over 30 years a hyperloop route would result in the following:

• 1.9 billion autos shifted to hyperloop passengers
• 2.4 million tons of reduced CO2 emissions (over $126 million in emissions savings)
• 450 million commercial truck vehicle hours traveled will be eliminated
• $300 billion in overall economic benefits (nearly $19 billion of that in direct transportation benefits

The conclusion of this study? A hyperloop route between these cities will be successful. Ohio officials want to see it happen. They're a little closer to their vision now.

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H1

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

So development of hyperloop transportation is being carried on in two ways. Elon Musk is sponsoring student design team competitions, and one start-up company is raising investment funding and trying to create a sustainable hyperloop business.

Hyperloop One (H1) reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates last November to partner in building it between Abu Dhabi and Dubai (Monday's post). This video is their vision of how it will work for a traveler:



They're also talking with European countries about various routes.

Transportation that will be smoother, faster, safer and cheaper - the world wants this to work. H1 expects to have a viable commercial enterprise in operation for cargo by 2020 and for passengers by 2021.

How fun will it be to watch this unfold 😏

Hyperloop cont'd

(2nd of two)

It's been dreamed of before as a "pneumatic railway" dating back to 1812 in Britain, and by rocket pioneer Robert Goddard in 1912.  Along with the engineering challenge, political help will be needed to go into and through local jurisdictions.

But, surprisingly, cost is not much of a problem compared to California's fast-train plans. The cost to build a hyperloop between LA and San Francisco is estimated at $6 billion, while the proposed fast-train will probably cost the state about $80 billion: it would be cheaper.

photo: techtimes.com

"Basically, the system would work like those old pneumatic tubes that were used to move messages using air pressure in banks . .  "The Hyperloop design uses a combination of low air pressure and magnetic acceleration to get people from LA to SF in just about 30 minutes,"  . .  It would produce its own electricity from solar power."  The trip from LA to SF is about 400 miles.

MIT wins

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

A team of students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) won the first round of competition last month to design a hyperloop pod, including its brakes, speed, stability and levitation. (If you didn't watch yesterday's video to see the concept, a "pod" carries either people or cargo through a large, nearly airless tube.)

Here's Elon explaining that the point of his  hyperloop competitions is to generate creative energy toward this new transportation technology:



Next summer the 22 teams who qualified in January will bring their prototype to the next competition to take place on a track built by SpaceX  next to their headquarters in California. The goal this time, Elon says, will be speed.

(cont'd tomorrow)

VHO Missouri 1

Ground transport by hyperloop is not operating anywhere yet, but studies and conferences abound to lay the foundations for this revolutionary new mode of transportation. 

A feasibility study for Missouri in partnership with Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO) was published ten months ago. Could the project be successful? They were optimistic.

)

(cont'd tomorrow)

Hyperloop

(first of two)

Some friends of Elon Musk, millionaires & billionaires among them, have gone public with their plan to create the "hyperloop" - yet another idea intended to change the world. And now they have financiers and politicians jumping on board.

It's transportation of cargo or passengers moving in a tube at hundreds of miles per hour. At one time not so long ago it really was science fiction, but now it's being funded and designed by serious people.

To get the idea, go to this link and look at the graphic complete with a diagram of the tube.

Moving ahead

You haven't forgotten about the hyperloop, right? There still are two companies pursuing the dream.

One of them, "Hyperloop One," has received a grant of $5o million from the UAE to actually build it between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. That distance is 99 miles, and it will only take twelve minutes. This is actually happening.



(cont'd tomorrow)

MbS on Israel

(cont'd from last Friday's post)

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), is cutting a new path for himself and his country. The new path includes more freedom for women, a more diversified economy (less oil, more other ventures), more moderate Islam.

Last Friday's post was about a possible partnership with Virgin Hyperloop One. If the deal goes through, there will be a new hyperloop route between Riyadh and Jeddah which will bring travel time down from the ten hours it takes now by public transport . . to a mere 76 minutes.

But the Prince's attitude toward Israel may be the biggest contrast to other parts of the Muslim Middle East. 

Iran, for example, openly admits planning to destroy Israel. But "Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince has said that Israelis “have the right to have their own land” and that formal relations between Israel and the kingdom could be mutually beneficial."

"Instead of seeing Israel as an enemy, Prince Mohammed has come to view the Jewish state as an attractive regional economic and technological hub . ."

"I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation,”

More speed 1

Hyperloop - fast and autonomous - isn't being developed in the U.S., but faster and/or autonomous transportation appeals to just about everybody. Variations are already used in multiple locations all over the world.

Dubai (UAE) on the Arabian Peninsula has an eye-catching system. Autonomous cars move people along a monorail system between major landmarks like Palm Jumeirah.  Here are 44 other monorail locations.

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China had no high-speed rail at the turn of the century, but now has 45,000 network miles, the world's longest HSR. The fastest commercial train in the world runs between Shanghai and its international airport. With peak speed of 268 mph, it makes the 19-mile trip in a little over 7 minutes. It uses "maglev" technology, the magnetic levitation idea connected with the hyperloop concept.

Japan's bullet train was the world's first HSR to operate way back in 1964.