Ahead of official Hyperloop tests this winter in the US, there are a number of companies – and countries – reportedly working on their own versions of the super-fast transport system. The latest report claims the technology could be heading to Europe.
A pre-feasibility study from KMPG, with explicit reference to Hyperloop One, proposes it could turn the 300-mile trip from Helsinki to Stockholm, which normally takes 17 hours via ferry, into a 28-minute journey. Of course, it is quicker to fly, with estimates at around three hours once check-in and flight time are considered.
The presentation claims such a system would cost around €19 billion (£16bn), with a full system test optimistically mooted for December 2016 and speeds reaching around 1,000km/h by quarter one of 2017.
Approximately €3bn of this money would go towards building a tunnel through the Åland islands, an archipelago between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea.
Hyperloop One, who has seemingly worked on the study with KPMG and FS Links, claims the initial cost of the system would be offset by "wider economic benefits and regional cohesion" such as increased property value and other regional revenue.
Some of this revenue, the company continued, would be used to pay for the system, which currently has no financial backing.
Hyperloop, a system initially devised by Elon Musk, uses propulsion to move tubes at high speed. Travellers inside a Hyperloop could be taken to their destinations at up to 700mph, with g-force in the system similar to that experienced by Formula 1 drivers.
It has been subject to great hype, with Russia recently signing a deal for its own version of the system that would provide a high-speed route between Moscow and St Petersburg. Two companies – Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), both based in Los Angeles – have been competing to build a working version of the model since its inception in 2013.
*Updated: July 6, 15:40
Story updated to include flight time information between Helsinki and Stockholm. After clarification from Hyperloop One, reference to Alan James and 500kmh has been removed. James is no longer an employee at UK Ultraspeed and now works for Hyperloop One.*
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
