Hyperloop plan to launch in Europe by 2020

The project of a futuristic bullet train in a vacuum tube Hyperloop proposed by Ilon Mask can be implemented in Eastern Europe. Yesterday, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced an agreement with the Slovak government to build the local Hyperloop transport system, the first segment of which they want to put into operation in 2020.

The Hyperloop idea was proposed in August 2013 by Ilon Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, in response to the California High-Speed ​​Rail government project, which by 2029 should connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. "High-speed" line involves the movement of trains at speeds above 322 km / h. On this occasion, Ilon Musk said that it would be the slowest “high-speed” railway in the world and at the same time the most expensive per kilometer.

As an alternative, Ilon Mask proposed the Hyperloop pipe, which is 10 times cheaper, and trains in vacuum move 2 times faster than the aircraft, at speeds of up to 1,220 km / h.
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Ilon Mask gave the project for crowdsourcing to the public and offered to implement it to everyone. Most actively engaged in this are private companies Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) and Hyperloop Tech. The first of these is looking for options for building tunnels outside the United States. For example, in January 2016, COO of the company Bebop Gresta (Bibop Gresta) said that in Russia there was a private investor who was interested in the project.

Now there is another option with Slovakia. The system of bullet trains will link the Slovak capital Bratislava with Vienna (Austria) and Bupashet (Hungary). A trip to the capitals of neighboring countries will take 8 and 10 minutes, respectively. The tunnel can also connect the distant borders of Slovakia, the journey between them by car takes 4.5 hours. “This kind of transport system will redefine the concept of travel and stimulate cross-border cooperation in Europe,” said Vazil Hudak, Minister of Economy of Slovakia.

HTT Executive Director Dirk Ahlborn (Dirk Ahlborn) noted the advanced automotive and energy industry in Slovakia, which is important for the implementation of the Hyperloop project. In Slovakia, assembled Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and even flying cars AeroMobil .


Construction of a test tunnel in California

Now HTT is building a test tunnel in California, and the commercial service promises to be launched in three years. At the same time, competitors from Hyperloop Tech are going to open their three-kilometer test track by the end of this year, and their commercial service in five years.