Hyperloop is gradually turning from theory into a real project.

About that represents the idea of ​​a vehicle Hyperloop, on Geektimes wrote several times. These are high-speed capsules that move through a tunnel from which air is pumped out. According to a number of experts, in such a tunnel, the capsule may well reach speeds of 1200 kilometers per hour.

The idea itself is not new, it was expressed by science fiction writers at different times. It was first described in a work of art several decades ago. But the technical implementation of the idea started only now. The initiator of the project was entrepreneur Ilon Mask, who initially stated that he was not going to deal with the project personally, but still changed his mind after a couple of years.

So, moving with such speed, the compositions of Hyperloop can make the world, figuratively speaking, not so big. Traveling from one side of the continent to the other will take a matter of hours instead of days, if we talk about ground vehicles. An ordinary passenger plane flies at a speed of about 800 km / h, so if we assume that the Hyperloop will ride through the tunnels at a speed of 1200 km / h, then the capsule passengers will reach their destination faster than passengers of flights.
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By the way, Ilon Mask proposed the idea of ​​the technical implementation of a vacuum train back in 2013, and several companies are involved in this project, each of which has achieved some success. The company Hyperloop One, which was recently co-owned by Sir Richard Branson, was the most advanced on this issue.

The need to create a transport of this type, in fact, has matured long ago. The fact is that there are more people, the world is gradually becoming a whole, if we talk about financial, commodity and other flows. So you need a new method that allows you to get from point A to point B at a very high speed. According to experts, the population of urban areas by 2050 will exceed the current figures by 2.5 billion people.

In Hyperloop, in the very idea and the possibility of its implementation, more and more people, including large investors, begin to believe. Richard Branson became one of the leaders of Hyperloop One (now Virgin Hyperloop One), investing $ 85 million in the company. There are other investors. It is unlikely that any of them invest their own funds because of the idea itself.



Proponents of Hyperloop (talking about the type of transport, rather than a specific company) believe that pumping out air from the tunnel and getting rid of the capsules from the wheels allows us to remove just two factors that lead to restrictions on the speed of land transport. And this allows you to increase the permissible limit to previously unseen indicators. In fairness it should be said that while the predicted limit of 1,200 km / h has not been reached. Capsules accelerated to a maximum of 400 km / h.

At the time of the announcement by Ilon Mask, some elements of the technology already existed, that is, Hyperloop does not need to be created from scratch, although, of course, there is a lot of work to be done. In particular, there are linear electric motors, vacuum pumps, magnetic levitation. All this is not new at all. But gathering all this together, having achieved the realization of the theory, is a difficult task that many companies are now trying to cope with.

“The idea is about a hundred years old. In fact, Hyperloop is a combination of an airplane cabin, life support systems and a maglev-type train. The main technical tasks are to disperse the capsules to a given value and create a vacuum. At high speeds, the slightest mistake can lead to very serious consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to be very precise when creating all the elements of Hyperloop so that the irreparable does not happen, ”says Marlin van de Kerkof, a representative of Hardt Hyperloop .

This company is located in the Netherlands and is supported by the government of this country. True, the creation of a real transport system requires more than just support. All executive bodies, the government, investors and scientists with engineers must engage in a technically challenging project so that it becomes successful.

Interestingly, in 2013, when Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) was founded, few people believed in the idea itself. The project was something interesting, funny, but no more. Now 800 engineers, scientists, technologists, designers and other specialists are working on projects within the HTT. At the moment, about 52 teams are working on solving a technological problem that faces them.

Project enthusiasts are aware that they themselves can not do anything, need full support. “When we studied previous attempts to bring a new transport to the market, we saw that without the support of the government, nothing worked, we need broad support from both the state and the public. We need to create something more than just a company, we need a social movement, ”says one of the HTT representatives.

It is worth noting that the plans for the implementation of Hyperloop are currently modified, and somewhat different from the original idea. The main difference is that engineers abandoned the full vacuum in the tunnels. It is too complicated and expensive (and dangerous too), so the air is pumped out to achieve a pressure of one tenth of the atmosphere. This means that the capsules can not move as fast as possible, the air, although very rarefied, will prevent this. The design of the tunnels was also changed, the pipes were made more aerodynamic, so that the air flowed around the capsules and did not prevent them from moving.

Most technology solutions in this field of open-source. Companies share their best practices (although not all and not always) for optimal results.


And now it is not yet completely clear what will happen with capsules that reach speeds close to the theoretical limit. There will be noises, vibrations that need to be managed. Therefore, there are trials ahead, many trials. An annual competition among Hyperloop teams allows you to monitor progress. So far it can hardly be called too fast, but there is definitely some progress.

By the way, not so long ago, the company Ilona Mask Boring company received permission to lay high-speed underground tunnels near Washington. Musk plans to build tunnels between New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Boring Company is ready to build tunnels for moving cars on platforms and for transporting people on Hyperloop trains. Last year, Godot’s tunnel shield completed the first tunnel segment near Los Angeles .

All current developments will be used in the implementation of the project High Speed ​​Two (HS2). This is a high-speed road in the UK, which will connect London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester. The cost of the project is very high and amounts to $ 76.5 billion. It is difficult to say who will allocate such funds and when the project will be completed. It is planned that part of the new transport network will begin to work in 2026, and it will be fully operational in 2033. The path from any of the cities to any (meaning the end points of the journey) will take no more than an hour, which is a significant achievement.

According to supporters of the project, its distinctive side is the absence of the need for fuel. It simply does not need, so over time it will be possible to save very significant resources when compared with the other transport systems - road, rail or air. Thus, the maintenance of capsules will cost (as some experts believe) cheaper than the maintenance of conventional trains.

Hyperloop enthusiasts believe that this will be one of the safest and most reliable modes of transport. The reason is that the infrastructure is practically independent of weather conditions, so there will be no problems with delays due to, for example, snow drifts. Compared to modern high-speed trains, Hyperloop has a number of advantages, including relatively quick payback. Depending on the size of the transport network in the UK, the new technology will be able to pay for itself in about 8-15 years, not more.

In addition to the need to address technical issues and attract public attention, there is another problem. These are the requirements of regulators, that is, the coordination of technology and its implementation with them. Indeed, in any country you need to get permission to build such systems for commercial use, if the system involves the possibility of sending people in a capsule through a tunnel at a speed of 1000 km / h. Naturally, regulators must be convinced of the safety of the transport network, and this requires expertise, technical analysis and much more.



Some companies that develop Hyperloop systems already have tunnels, some are even airtight, that is, you can suck the air out. But the problem is that these tunnels are too short to carry out full-scale tests. In fact, we need real systems that would allow us to test the performance of capsules in practice. In the same Netherlands, it is planned to create a tunnel with a length of 5 kilometers, which will cost about 120 million euros. It will be built together with private investors who have decided to invest in the project.

But not only in the Netherlands test tunnels will be created. Similar work will be carried out in the USA, UK, Spain and some other countries. In order for the technology to become truly widespread, it is necessary to convince the passengers themselves, so far potential ones, that Hyperloop is safe. After all, it is easy to understand that if an accident occurs, then at this speed the passengers do not expect anything good. On the other hand, high-speed trains in Japan and China somehow cope with the security problem, so practical and affordable solutions can be expected in Hyperloop.

Despite all the efforts of Hyperloop enthusiasts, it is still too early to talk about the commercial component of the project. Before putting into operation at least relatively short lines (in any country) there are several years left. Yes, there are already options for the design of the capsule, tunnel, technical projects of the propulsion system. But in order to bring it all together, it takes time, a lot of time. However, as mentioned above, more and more people are starting to believe in the idea of ​​Hyperloop. Investors, engineers, scientists from research organizations join the project. Well, the more teams will work on Hyperloop, the sooner we can expect the results of this work.