Sealed in

In his pitch, Musk envisioned the Hyperloop system transporting sealed capsules, each of which would hold 28 passengers, inside a tube, with new capsules departing every two minutes from Los Angeles or San Francisco.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Reduced drag

The reason Hyperloop capsules, floating on a cushion of air or using magnetic levitation, would be able to travel at up to 760mph would be the massively reduced drag, made possible by the very low air pressure in the tube. The pressure of the air in the Hyperloop would be about one sixth that of the atmosphere on Mars — equivalent to flying at a height of more than 150,000 feet.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

387km per hour test track

One of the companies furthest along towards developing a working Hyperloop systems is Virgin Hyperloop One.

This is the company’s 500 meter-long DevLoop located 30 minutes from Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. Virgin Hyperloop One completed its third phase of testing in December, when it hit test speeds of 387km per hour.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

The XP-1 capsule

Virgin Hyperloop One unveils it XP-1 pod that was used during its recent phase three testing.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Magnetic levitation

One of the magnetic levitation rigs being tested at Virgin Hyperloop One’s Innovation Campus.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Airlock

The airlock in Virgin Hyperloop One’s DevLoop test track.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Building a Hyperloop

Inside a section of Virgin Hyperloop One’s DevLoop test track.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

The world's first Hyperloop?

Hyperloop routes are being considered across the world, with proposed projects at various stages. One of the first to be realized could be a Virgin Hyperloop One route that would transport passengers, and possibly cargo, between the Indian cities of Pune and Mumbai in 25 minutes.

Virgin Hyperloop One has signed an agreement with the Indian government and set out a plan to have a working system in place within seven years, with the ambition of the route eventually hosting 150 million passenger trips each year.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Vision of the future

While we wait for the first working Hyperloop tracks to be completed there is no shortage of impressive concept art, such as this rendering of a potential Virgin Hyperloop One station in Dubai.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Not so boring

Elon Musk is trying to make Hyperloop projects more viable by reducing the cost of digging tunnels between cities by a factor of 10.

To that end he set up The Boring Company, with the aim of reducing current costs, which can be as high as $1bn per mile.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Tunnel vision

One of the tunnels dug by The Boring Company.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Fast-tracking Hyperloops

While Musk may not have poured much of his considerable resources in developing a Hyperloop system, his rocket company SpaceX does have its own Hyperloop test track at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

The one mile long tube is used in the annual Hyperloop Pod Competition, which challenges university teams to design and build the best transport Pod, with a view to fast-tracking development of prototypes.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Ready to test

A capsule ready for testing inside the track at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition, now in its third year.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Pod people

One of the capsules competing in a recent SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

On track

The test track for the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition has a six-foot outer diameter.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Ultra-fast travel

A team from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands ran this computer simulation of an ultra-fast rail system. The team came in second in SpaceX’s Hyperloop competition.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

Aside from Virgin Hyperloop One, another major company working to develop a Hyperloop system is Hyperloop Transport Technologies (HTT).

The Los Angeles-headquartered company is aiming to build a system that will use magnetic levitation to transport capsules — such as the concept pod seen here — carrying up to 40 passengers at a maximum speed of 1,223km per hour.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Inside the capsule

A mock-up of what a Hyperloop Transportation Technologies capsule might look like from inside.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Railway of the future?

Like Virgin Hyperloop One, HTT has signed agreements with governments to develop feasibility studies into Hyperloop systems across the world.

One such memorandum of understanding was signed between HTT and the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board last September. Under the agreement, a public-private consortium will carry out a six-month study into the possibility of building a Hyperloop between the Indian cities of Vijaywada and Amaravati, potentially reducing a trip of more than one hour to six minutes.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Ambitious plans

Concept art for a future Hyperloop station produced by HTT.

SEE: Tech and the future of transportation (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Prototype pod

HTT’s visualisation of one of the capsules in a future Hyperloop system.

Also see

• Elon Musk details plans for high-speed urban hyperloop for pedestrians (TechRepublic)
• World’s first hyperloop? Indian route promises Mumbai to Pune in 25 minutes (TechRepublic)
• Why hyperloop is poised to transform commutes, commerce, and communities (ZDNet)
• Elon Musk’s Boring Company tunnel plans put buses in fast lane (CNET)
• Hyperloop One: These nine new routes could bring 680mph maglev travel to millions (ZDNet)
• Video: How Hyperloop One is building a network that will be more than a series of tubes (TechRepublic)
• Hyperloop: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)