In 2013, Elon Musk responded to the approval of a new high-speed rail system in California by releasing a manifesto that called for the development of the next generation of high-speed transportation.
Musk, the Canadian behind PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, said the current technology powering high-speed trains makes them too expensive and slow. His proposed solution: the hyperloop. Using compressed air in a giant steel tube, the new system could propel pods of passengers and cargo at nearly the speed of sound, reducing the 560-km journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco to 35 minutes.
In 2015, SpaceX invited engineers and inventors from around the world to join a competition to design the hyperloop pod. Of the 1,200 initial entries, only 22 remain — including a team from the University of Waterloo.
- It’s an idea older than the Canadian Pacific Railway
The idea of a railway powered by air pressure dates back to the early 19th century and the early days of rail itself. So-called “atmospheric railways” were built as demonstration projects in London, Dublin and Paris but were never adopted for wider use, as steam-driven railroads proved to be far cheaper and easier to build.
- Welcome, vacuum-sealed travel
Think of the pneumatic tube that formed the basis of inter-office communications in the pre-computer era, and scale it to carry a couple of dozen people. The no-pressure vacuum becomes a low-pressure system, which requires additional technology — fans, essentially — to disperse the pressure. It all leads to faster travel, and much less energy.
- Faster than a speeding ....
The traveler pods will be propelled at speeds of up to 1,200 km/h — nearly the speed of sound. Musk claims the hyperloop, or something similar, is ideal for travel between high-traffic city pairs that are less than 1,500 km apart. Think New York-Boston or Toronto-Montreal. Anything further and supersonic air travel is preferable, Musk says. He believes the hyperloop’s first market will be business-class travellers looking to cut down on their commute.
- No need for new rights-of-way
Musk suggests the hyperloop could be built above ground, with prefabricated steel tubes dropped into place on elevated pylons.
- And a lot less to build
A high-speed train line from Sacramento to San Diego would run about US$90 billion. A hyperloop, covering half that distance, is projected to cost one-tenth that amount.
- It’s powered by the sun
The hyperloop tubes could have integrated solar panels, generating electricity to drive the system. Tesla recently merged with SolarCity to meet Musk’s vision of a unified battery-technology company that happens to make vehicles. The batteries built at its multi-million square-foot Gigafactory in the Nevada desert could someday act as a renewable power source.
- With no crowds
Musk’s initial design for the hyperloop would carry 840 passengers per hour. That would mean up to 40 capsules running during peak times. Ever the optimist, Musk thinks passengers will board and exit the pods in five minutes or less. Perhaps his experience deplaning from commercial flights is vastly different than the rest of the population.
- Canada’s answer: the Goose 1
The University of Waterloo team is financing its project with $43,416 raised to date on Kickstarter and technology support from the university, PayPal and engineering consultants IBI Group. Their 3D-printed Goose 1 prototype pod weights 680 kg and is designed to carry 26 passengers and a total weight of 2,300 kg.
- John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO, RBC