Hyperloop One, the 700 km/hr tube transport solution, will shut down: report

Hyperloop One

It appears one of the largest and most high profile proponents of the hyperloop as the next big transportation revolution, an evolution of railways, has fallen apart.

Hyperloop One, formerly known as Virgin Hyperloop One, is calling it quits, with the Los Angeles-based company now laying off most of its employees and attempting to sell its remaining assets, according to a report today by Bloomberg.

This includes the disposal of their short test track and machinery near Las Vegas.

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They were amongst a growing number of companies around the world researching and developing tube-based transportation, with special vehicles carrying passengers and cargo traveling quietly within low-pressure tubes at speeds of up to over 700 km/hr.

In late 2020, Hyperloop One completed their first test run with passengers at their test track, achieving a speed of up to 172 km/hr. But their plans began to publicly unravel in February 2022, when the company downsized their workforce significantly, and shifted their focus from passenger transportation to mainly cargo. Then in late 2022, the “Virgin” branding on the venture was shed from the company’s name.

The company was never able to build a commercial hyperloop as a direct competitor to both railway and air transportation.

Since it was founded in 2014, Hyperloop One raised US$450 million in financing.

Hyperloop One

Hyperloop One

With Hyperloop One’s dream now ended, it is up to other hyperloop companies to further develop the transportation mode and provide the proof of concept.

Canadian firm TransPod, based in Toronto, is amongst the world’s largest hyperloop research and development companies. In early 2023, TransPod became the first hyperloop company in the world to confirm the financing of a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project, with US$550 million in financing confirmed towards build a hyperloop line between Edmonton and Calgary, with end-to-end travel times of only about 45 minutes. The total project cost is estimated to be about US$18 billion.

According to TransPod, their hyperloop technology will be designed to reach speeds of up to 1,000 km/hr. They claim that their tube-based transportation system carries lower operating costs than high-speed rail, and the system capacity can grow to match or exceed high-speed rail.

The global race to design and build the hyperloop began shortly after Elon Musk first described the technology in the current context more than a decade ago.

Although there is much attention on the future potential of the hyperloop, North America has yet to achieve its first real high-speed rail line.

Earlier this year, Brightline Florida opened its expansion reaching Orlando, which includes a segment where trains reach just over 200 km/hr — the minimum technical speed to be classified as high-speed rail.

By 2028, Brightline is expected to open North America’s first real high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles region, with trains travelling at speeds of up to 322 km/hr. The US$10 billion project will build a dedicated set of tracks for high-speed rail.

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