By 2030, Virgin Hyperloop could be whisking people between cities in a matter of minutes – rather than hours – in its futuristic pods. Rose Dykins reports
Virgin Hyperloop has shared a glimpse how its groundbreaking mass-transit technology could transform inter-city travel by 2030.
Reaching speeds of up to 670 miles per hour, Virgin Hyperloop is powered by electromagnets that push carriages – or pods – through a vacuum tube, which eliminates the air resistance experienced by other modes of transport.
It means it will be possible to transport passengers between cities in a matter of minutes rather than hours. A trip from London to Edinburgh would take just 45 minutes, while the journey between New York and Washington DC would be just 30 minutes.
What’s more See Three is creating a bespoke video and animation for Virgin Hyperloop, while Man Made Music is composing a score and sonic identity for the mode of transport. Both of these will add to the multi-sensory passenger experience the innovation is striving for.
“In this day and age, Virgin Hyperloop taking off from our portals provides holistic, intelligent transportation for a globalised community to travel across vast distances in a safer, cleaner, easier, and faster way than airlines.”
In November, Virgin Hyperloop carried its first ever passengers during a successful test run in the Nevada desert. Two senior employees from the company travelled the length of a 500-metre test track in 15 seconds – reaching a speed at 107 miles per hour.
When it arrives, Virgin Hyperloop will be the first new form of public transport to arrive in a century. The next stages of development will involve the regulation and certification of hyperloop systems around the world. The aim is to achieve safety certification by 2025, ready for commercial operations – as shown here – to resume in 2030.