Travel from Pittsburgh to Chicago in Half An Hour for the Price of a Bus Ticket with Hyperloop
Anybody that wants to see the true potential of the Hyperloop needs to take a look at a proposal made by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
A person would be able to travel from Pittsburgh to Chicago in half an hour; a distance of 460.20 miles (740.62 kilometers), for less than the price of a bus ticket, if the Commission’s Hyperloop proposal becomes reality. The trip would cost around $54, (the current cost of a bus ticket between Pittsburgh and Chicago), The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
That bus trip currently takes around seven hours; the current driving time is six hours and 49 minutes, under ideal conditions. It currently takes an hour and 40 minutes to fly between Pittsburgh and Chicago. To make matters worse the average costs around $243 according to data I found on Google.
Hyperloop One Global Challenge
The Commission’s Columbus to Pittsburgh corridor is one of 35 semifinalists in Hyperloop One’s Global Challenge. The Global Challenge is competition designed to find a locations for the first Hyperloop line.
The Commission and 34 other organizations beat out 2,565 competitors for a chance to make a presentation to Hyperloop One at one of three showcases. The showcases are scheduled for February 28 in New Delhi, April 6 in Washington DC (where Mid-Ohio will presumably present) and April 27 in London, according to a Hyperloop One press release.
After the showcases, Hyperloop One will narrow the entrants down to 12 finalists before making a final decision. Mid-Ohio is one of 10 American entrants in the Challenge.
Columbus to Pittsburgh Hyperloop Corridor Proposed
Mid-Ohio’s initial proposal will be a corridor connecting Pittsburgh to Columbus. If it operates as advertised the corridor would reduce a trip from Pittsburgh to Columbus from three hours to 15 minutes. The distance between Columbus and Pittsburgh is 185 miles (298 kilometers).
Such a corridor might form the beginning of a national Hyperloop system in the United States. It would presumably follow the route of Interstate 70 which would allow direct connections to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. to the east and St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis to the West.
By following I-70 the route would connect to Kansas City and Denver. That would allow for a connection to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego via I-15.
A connection to Chicago might form the beginning of a transcendental Hyperloop following I-80 that would connect New York and San Francisco. The potential of this technology is incredible – one only hopes that our leaders can see it.
