The first test of the transport of the future passes successfully

2024-09-17 10:56:00, Tech CNA

Years ago, billionaire Elon Musk introduced a new way of transportation through giant underground pipes called Hyperloop. The capsule-shaped carriages will use air pressure to travel rapidly through underground tubes. Recently, this new form of mass transportation has scored a new success. The company that is using this technology in the Netherlands announced the successful completion of the test for this new transport system.

Could this be the transportation of the future? Passengers using capsule-shaped carriages, which move rapidly in magnetic fields through tubes.

The company "Hardt" says that it has taken a step forward to make this idea a reality.

"Today, in the first successful test, we were able to start the vehicle, turn on the steering and propulsion systems," explains Marinus van der Meijs, director of Technology and Engineering at the Hardt company.

This system consists of a series of cabins that float in the air inside a pipeline.

The pipeline, which is being used for the tests, is 420 meters long and consists of 34 separate sections, each with a diameter of 2.5 meters.

The designers of the Hyperloop system aim to have capsules moving through the tubes at speeds of up to 700 km per hour, through an infrastructure where there is low air pressure causing the capsules to encounter less resistance inside the tube and move at high speeds.

Supporters of the project say that this system will be far more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed trains and freight trucks, but that it will require huge investments in infrastructure.

So far, in the limited space at the test center, speed has been modest.

"We started it at the speed of a subway, up to a maximum speed of about 30 kilometers per hour," says Mr van der Meijs.

However, as company representatives say, getting the technology to this point has not been easy.

"The hardest thing we're doing right now is testing all the functions together. Launch, propulsion, steering, all those functions we are now able to put to work together, as in an orchestra", explains Roel van de Pas, director at the company Hardt Hyperloop.

When Elon Musk presented this concept about a decade ago, he suggested that the vehicle would transport passengers at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 30 minutes.

Since then, teams around the world have been working on this idea, but this type of transportation is not yet available.

"To deliver the Hyperloop as a transportation system, we face a complex challenge that requires technology, policy implementation and collaboration between the public and private sectors. This is what is needed most", says Mr. Van de Pas.

"At the Hardt company we are ready to start passenger transport by 2030," he insists.

According to him, there is no technical reason that could prevent the operation of this new system./ Voa