All eyes have been on Sir Richard Branson‘s Virgin Hyperloop for some time now. You tend to attract a fair amount of public attention when your high-speed transportation system promises to “set the standard for 21st-century travel.” And in a newly released concept video, Virgin Hyperloop has explained exactly how you’ll be able to travel at speeds of up to 670 MPH (1,078 km/h) in its passenger pods; as well as offering a preview of what tomorrow’s commuters can expect.
“It starts with a near-vacuum environment inside a tube which enables high speeds and low power consumption by nearly eliminating aerodynamic drag.”
“Inside that tube, battery-powered pods glide at speeds up to 670 MPH – comfortably, safely, and quietly.”
In contrast to train cars, Virgin Hyperloop passenger pods move in convoys, allowing them to branch off towards different destinations, the same way a car exits a highway. The proposed system will be able to transport “tens of thousands of passengers per hour” in every direction.
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In November of 2020, Virgin Hyperloop successfully completed its very first passenger ride. Tested at the company’s DevLoop test site just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada with Co-Founder/CTO Josh Giegel and Director of Passenger Experience Sara Lucian – on that occasion, it achieved an impressive top speed of 172 km/h, taking the duo 500 metres forward in 15 seconds.
“Even before we actually started moving it was all a bit surreal,” says Giegel.
“For me, it was just such a thrill—an exhilarating feeling,” says Lucian.
“From a physical perspective, it was actually a lot smoother even than I was expecting.”
Virgin Hyperloop has undergone over 400 tests at the DevLoop site in Nevada. Currently, the operation is in the process of obtaining full safety certification by 2025 with a tentative launch date of 2030 for commercial operations.
