Canadian-based Transpod claims to have raised $57.11 million (€50 million) from unidentified investors in North America and Italy. There is apparently no connection between Transpod and HyperloopTT or Hyperloop One.
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That might mean Hyperloop One will conduct the tests at its facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company might also be planning to test components at the track its archrival Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) is building in Toulouse, France.
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“We envision that Hyperloop will play into a bigger role of the Silk Road Economic Belt, connecting the region to the rest of the world,” Dirk Ahlborn told the China Money Network. “China spends over US $300 billion annually on infrastructure to address their rapidly growing urban populations.”
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It sounds as if the Ukrainian Hyperloop might have Chinese backing.
“Ukraine is at the crossroads of the New Silk Road transportation corridor and we can expect Hyperloop to play a major role in connecting Europe and Asia,” HyperloopTT Chairman Bibop Gresta said in the press release.
The New Silk Road is a transportation corridor across Asia that would the European Union with the People’s Republic of China. The project would follow the historic Silk Road which connected the Chinese Empire and the Byzantine Empire in Medieval times.
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A smarter move would be to use the subway to haul mail, packages, and other air freight downtown from O’Hare. An added service might be hauling airline passengers’ luggage to and from downtown hotels. That might may pay for it; and allow for low-cost passenger service, because freight can subsidize passengers.
Musk needs to add some other lines to his Chicago subway and fast. Smart moves will be a line connecting O’Hare and Midway Airport and lines to Gary, Indiana, Joliet, Illinois, Aurora, Illinois, and Waukegan.
It looks as if HyperloopTT might be the leader in the race to build a commercial Hyperloop. Its competitors; Hardtt Global Mobility, Virgin Hyperloop One, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the Boring Company will have a lot of catching up to do if the press release claims come true.
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Rob Lloyd, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, said: “Based on McKinsey’s assessment of our technology, Virgin Hyperloop One-enabled supply chains can dramatically impact business bottom lines by reducing both finished goods inventory and required warehouse space by 25%.”
“On-demand deliveries are a novelty today,” Branson noted. “Tomorrow it will be the expectation.”
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A Hyperloop would also give railroads access to new sources of revenue. Those sources include passengers, and vast volumes of goods now moved by air freight.
Another intriguing source of revenue would be moving vehicles for private individuals at speeds that are faster than highways. Instead of driving, a person moving from Los Angeles to New York might load his car on the Hyperloop for the trip. A Chicago family vacationing in Mexico might load their car on the Kansas City Southern Hyperloop for shipment to that country.
Two other revenue streams Hyperloop offers would come from data and electricity. Fiber optic cables for high-speed internet can be built into the Hyperloop tube. The tube might also be built in such a way as to transmit electricity across the country.
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If most commuters were traveling on the Hyperloop Subway it might be possible to demolish some freeways, and reduce the size of others. Just imagine how much nicer Los Angeles; or any other major city would be, if freeways were only for commercial trucks and interstate traffic. Far fewer lanes would be required, that will mean less maintenance, less smog, and lower taxes.
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Cargo movement around many ports is slow, awkward, expensive, cumbersome, and incredibly inefficient. This limits economic development and does incredible damage to the environment; and public health because vast amounts of diesel fuel must be burned to move all that cargo.
Hyperloop can fix that because it is faster, cheaper, and cleaner. The Hyperloop is electrically-powered so no diesel fuel is needed. That eliminates pollution or at least moves it to other locations. It can operate at speeds of several hundred miles an hour which can speed up cargo movement.
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