A Virgin Hyperloop pod on Sunday made its first journey carrying passengers, in a test the company claimed represented a major step forward for the “groundbreaking” technology capable of transporting people at 1,000kph.
The Hyperloop is intended to carry passengers in small pods through a vacuum tube, with proponents saying that it could revolutionize high-speed travel.
Virgin says the Hyperloop would be able to reach top speeds of 1,080kph — projecting a 45-minute journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco — and would produce no carbon emissions.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Until Sunday, the technology, first proposed by tech magnate Elon Musk in 2012, had not been tested with people on board.
Two Virgin employees — chief technology officer and cofounder Josh Giegel and director of passenger experience Sara Luchian — made the 500m journey in a two-person vehicle in just 15 seconds at a test site in the Nevada desert.
Luchian told the BBC that she felt the trip was “exhilarating both psychologically and physically,” and reported no discomfort.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Once brought into regular use, the pods would be able to transport up to 28 people at a time, Virgin says, with larger models for moving goods also in development.
Virgin’s Hyperloop has raised more than US$400 million, largely from chief executive officer Richard Branson and the logistics company DP World, owned by the Dubai government.
Virgin is one of a number of companies working to develop the technology.
Yet while Branson on Sunday hailed the success of the “groundbreaking” Hyperloop, concerns have dogged developers about just how safe the technology would be.
One researcher at Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology said the high speeds involved could turn the Hyperloop into a “barf ride.”
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