Capsule propelled through Hyperloop test tube, step forward for transportation system

Hyperloop, a new form of public transportation involving capsules propelled by magnetic fields through depressurized tubes, has achieved significant takeoff in the northern Netherlands, a company developing the technology announced Monday.

A test vehicle was levitated and propelled through a tube in a test facility for Elon Musk’s once-promoted high-speed transportation system.

“Today, with the first successful test, we were able to levitate the vehicle, but also activate the guidance system and the propulsion system,” Marinus van der Meijs, chief technology and engineering officer at hyperloop company Hardt, told The Associated Press late last week, ahead of Monday’s official announcement.

The 420-metre tube at the European Hyperloop Centre is made up of 34 separate sections, most of which are 2.5 metres in diameter. A vacuum pump draws in air to reduce internal pressure. This reduces drag and allows the capsules to travel at high speeds.

Hyperloop developers want capsules to be able to travel through tubes at speeds of up to 700 km/h. Proponents say the project is far more efficient than short flights, high-speed trains and freight trucks, but it will require significant infrastructure investment.

So far, in the limited space offered by the test center, speed has been modest.

Once the capsule was in place in the tube, “we launched it with acceleration similar to that of a subway, up to a top speed of about 30 km/h (18 mph), about 100 meters (more than 300 feet) into the pipe,” Van der Meijs added.

However, this is an important step that required careful implementation.

“The most difficult task we have to accomplish right now is to test all these functions together. Levitation, propulsion, guidance, all these functions, we are now able to perform them like an orchestra, to make them work together,” said Roel van de Pas, Chief Commercial Officer of Hardt Hyperloop.

Elon Musk proposed the idea more than a decade ago, suggesting the vehicle could carry passengers the 400 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. Since then, teams around the world have been working to make the idea a reality.

“To implement Hyperloop as a mobility system, we have to deal with a very complex puzzle that requires technology, policy and public-private collaboration, and that’s what we need most,” Van de Pas said. “At Hardt, we are ready to welcome passengers by 2030.”

Some analysts are skeptical. At the hyperloop test center’s grand opening in March, Robert Noland, a professor emeritus at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, told The Associated Press that building the necessary infrastructure was too expensive, calling it “another example of policymakers chasing a shiny object.”

In 2016, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement with Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One to explore the potential of building a hyperloop line between the city-state and Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital.

The deal announcement took place atop the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, with panoramic views of the futuristic city-state’s skyline serving as both a backdrop and a sign of Dubai’s desire to be the first to leap into the future.

But like many big announcements in the city-state, the hyperloop idea faded in recent years, with no tracks ever built. Hyperloop One closed in December.

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