A proposal that could help you maintain your sanity on the 195-mile trip from Austin to Dallas was unveiled in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
Hyperloop Texas projects the trip would take less than 20 minutes traveling via electric propulsion in pods through low-pressure tubes. It was one of 11 teams to introduce proposals at a meeting of policymakers and transportation experts as part of the Hyperloop Global Challenge.
Hyperloop One, the brainchild of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, envisions a new mode of high-speed transit "for the price of a bus ticket." The Hyperloop would transport cargo and passengers through tubes at speeds of up to 760 mph. The company introduced the challenge last May, calling for teams to compete to be considered for the first Hyperloop network.
The 640-mile Texas Triangle system would connect Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Laredo. Engineering firm AECOM, which put together the Hyperloop Texas team, said the cities were selected based on their growing economic climate, population, key connections to cargo and infrastructure, and location.
The other routes presented Thursday were Boston-Somerset-Providence, RI, Cheyenne, WY-Houston, TX, Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh, Denver-Colorado Springs, Denver-Vail, Kansas City-St. Louis, Los Angeles-San Diego, Miami-Orlando, Reno-Las Vegas and Seattle-Portland.
Hyperloop One finalized tube installation at a full-scale test track in the Nevada desert this week. It hopes to conduct the first public trial of the system in the first half of this year. The company's goal is to be moving cargo by 2020 and people by 2021.
