Virgin Hyperloop shows off the future: mass transport in floating magnetic pods
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Virgin Hyperloop shows off the future: mass transport in floating magnetic pods

World+Biz

Reuters
08 May, 2021, 06:10 pm
Last modified: 08 May, 2021, 07:41 pm

Related News

  • ADP for transport proposed to be doubled
  • Passengers suffer while returning to Dhaka after Eid holidays
  • Tk8,000cr being plundered from passengers during Eid exodus: Jatri Kalyan Samity
  • Road accidents to reduce as country introduces intelligent transport system
  • JP lawmakers face off over transport chaos  

Virgin Hyperloop shows off the future: mass transport in floating magnetic pods

"It will feel like an aircraft at take-off and once you're at speed"

Reuters
08 May, 2021, 06:10 pm
Last modified: 08 May, 2021, 07:41 pm
A test hyperloop tube is seen at the Virgin Hyperloop facility near Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake
A test hyperloop tube is seen at the Virgin Hyperloop facility near Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

In the desert just north of Las Vegas, a long white metal tube sits at the base of the mountains, promising to one day revolutionize travel.

That is where Virgin Hyperloop, whose partners include Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is developing the technology for passenger pods that will hurtle at speeds of up to 750 miles an hour (1,200 kph) through almost air-free vacuum tunnels using magnetic levitation.

"It will feel like an aircraft at take-off and once you're at speed," said co-founder and Chief Executive Josh Giegel, who gave Reuters an exclusive tour of the pod used in its November test run, where it was propelled along a 500 meter (1,640 ft)tunnel.

"You won't even have turbulence because our system is basically completely able to react to all that turbulence. Think noise-canceling but bump-canceling, if you will."

Off-white materials and a back mirror make the pod seem bigger and more "inviting" for new users, Giegel said.

"This pod was really the embodiment of 'How do we take something that's an idea and make it into something that's a reality for us to sit in?' Giegel said.

The pods will seat 28 passengers and could be customized for long and short distances, and for freight.

While it is still at an early stage, Giegel predicts commercial operations as early as 2027. It could be the first form of transport in 100 years to revolutionize travel, just like cars, trains and planes did, Giegel said.

Rocket scientist Robert Goddard came up with the "vactrain" idea in the early 1900s. France tried to develop the Aerotrain in the 1960s and 1970s, but lack of funding killed the project.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk reignited interest in 2013 by setting out how a modern system would work. Giegel, who worked at Musk's SpaceX at the time, said technology is now catching up.

The required batteries, power electronics and some sensors were previously not quite ready, Giegel said. "We're at like the very bleeding edge of what a high-speed autonomous battery-powered vehicle is."

Virgin Hyperloop is looking to first develop passenger routes in India, where the transport system is overloaded, and in Saudi Arabia, which lacks an infrastructure.

"It starts off with two people riding a Hyperloop. It ends with hundreds of millions of people riding on a Hyperloop and that's what the 2020s, the roaring 20s will be," Giegel said.

The pod will be on display at the Smithsonian Historic Arts and Industries Museum's "FUTURES" exhibition in Washington in late summer.

Top News

Virgin Hyperloop / Future / Mass / transport / floating / magnetic / pods

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Are banks only gainers from dollar crisis?
    Are banks only gainers from dollar crisis?
  • PK Halder wants to return home
    PK Halder wants to return home
  • Exporters for continuation of 0.5% source tax for 5 years 
    Exporters for continuation of 0.5% source tax for 5 years 

MOST VIEWED

  • An employee takes granules of 99.99 percent pure gold at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant, one of the world's largest producers in the precious metals industry, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
    Russia gives Credit Bank of Moscow licence to export gold
  • Swedish and NATO flags are seen printed on paper this illustration taken April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    Denmark, Iceland and Norway 'strongly welcome' Finnish and Swedish decision to apply for NATO membership
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses South Korean parliament via video link, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
    Ukraine's president says he discussed need for financial support with IMF's Georgieva
  • An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, U.S., April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Marcy de Luna
    Surging natural gas prices squeeze US industrial sector
  • NATO prepares to add Finland and Sweden to northern defenses
    NATO prepares to add Finland and Sweden to northern defenses
  • Newly-appointed French Prime Minister Jean Castex arrives to attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 7, 2020. Photo:Reuters
    French PM hands in resignation ahead of expected cabinet overhaul

Related News

  • ADP for transport proposed to be doubled
  • Passengers suffer while returning to Dhaka after Eid holidays
  • Tk8,000cr being plundered from passengers during Eid exodus: Jatri Kalyan Samity
  • Road accidents to reduce as country introduces intelligent transport system
  • JP lawmakers face off over transport chaos  

Features

Bitcoin, by far the largest cryptocurrency, is a terrible substitute for government-issued money. Photo: Reuters

Crypto’s wild week offers a much-needed warning

10h | Panorama
Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

11h | Brands
Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

11h | Brands
Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

11h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Finland, Sweden decide to join NATO

Finland, Sweden decide to join NATO

2h | Videos
Where you can swim for Tk5

Where you can swim for Tk5

4h | Videos
Cultural activists pay tribute to Hassan Arif

Cultural activists pay tribute to Hassan Arif

7h | Videos
How PK Halder becomes a scamster

How PK Halder becomes a scamster

7h | Videos

Most Read

1
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

2
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

3
Impact of falling taka against US dollar
Banking

Taka losing more value as global currency market volatility persists

4
Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve
Economy

Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve

5
Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 
Banking

Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 

6
How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives
Bazaar

How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab