The transportation of the future is called Hyperloop and for now the project is only in the concept stage. The passenger-carrying capsules are to travel at the speed of sound.
The idea belongs to billionaire Elon Musk. The innovator presented his concept of a high-speed transportation system in front of a wide audience. The inventor can boast of numerous achievements earned so far. He is the founder of electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors, the private space research company SpaceX and cofounder of PayPal.
Musk has published a document describing his innovative idea and the Hyperloop project. It describes a low-pressure tube system with capsules, able to move at high and low speeds along the length of the tube.
If his idea comes into fruition, the route from Los Angeles to San Francisco, which is about 400 miles (644 km), would be traveled at the speed of sound for a mere half an hour.
Musk states that this new transportation system has nothing in common with the trains we are currently familiar with. The system will transport passengers and freight in capsules inside of a tube, mounted on pylons. The calculations show that the capsules would be able to reach 760 mph (1220 km/h).
According to Musk, Hyperloop would be economically feasible for any distance under 932 miles (1500 km). Prices for a ticket would be affordable and the passengers would be completely safe.
Tests have shown that the new system would be less vulnerable to earthquakes and the risk of accidents would be lower. This is mostly due to the fact that it cannot crash or derail.
Initial estimates show that the new transport connection between L.A. and San Francisco would cost $6 billion. A one-way ticket will cost about $20.
For now, the idea has been well received but the problem of the price to start the project remains. It comes out to about $70 billion. Critics think that this price is way too high.
There are also those who claim that the system is not practical and even slow. Despite everything, the project is to launch and in 2015 the company known as Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is expected to present the Hyperloop prototype.
