A 620mph hyperloop network between Amsterdam and Paris – with journey times of just 90 minutes – could be up and running within the next eight yearsDutch firm Hardt Hyperloop is developing the ultra-fast transport technologyIt involves travelling in a train-style pod through a steel tube in a partial vacuumStudy has revealed project could be economically viable and running by 2028
A hyperloop network that would whoosh passengers between Amsterdam and Paris in under 90 minutes may become a reality within the next eight years.
Dutch company Hardt Hyperloop is developing the ultra-fast transport technology, which involves a train-style pod that floats using magnetic levitation being pushed via electric propulsion at over 620mph through a steel tube maintained at a partial vacuum.
The firm says that a new study it carried out alongside the province of North Holland has revealed the project could be economically viable and be up and running as early as 2028.
A rendering showing what a hyperloop network between Amsterdam and Paris could look like. Hardt Hyperloop says the journey time would be 90 minutes
The study looked at how accessibility, connectivity and decongestion around the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area would be impacted if a hyperloop were to be installed to link the city with other destinations in the Netherlands, as well as further afield in Europe.
It suggests that a hyperloop could carry 200,000 passengers per hour in each direction and in half the time it usually takes to travel between Amsterdam and Paris by train.
Passengers would travel from Amsterdam to Eindhoven in just 15 minutes, to Dusseldorf in less than 30 minutes and Brussels in less than an hour on five potential routes.
Hardt said: ‘The implementation of hyperloop would, in turn, have a huge economic impact and strengthen the economic value of the North Holland province.
A rendering showing what a hyperloop station would look like. A new study has shown that a hyperloop network linking Amsterdam to other cities is ‘economically viable’
What a boarding platform at a hyperloop station could look like. Hyperloop travel involves a train-style pod that floats using magnetic levitation being pushed via electric propulsion at over 600mph through a steel tube maintained at a partial vacuum
A rendering of what passengers could experience inside a hyperloop pod
WHAT IS HYPERLOOP?
Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at airline speeds – roughly 600 to 700mph – between distant locations.
It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes – half the time it takes a plane.
It involves a train-style pod that floats using magnetic levitation being pushed via electric propulsion through a steel tube maintained at a partial vacuum.
The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes.
‘The potential size of the working-age population would be considerably expanded if Amsterdam was connected to Groningen, The Hague and particularly regions such as the Ruhr area.
‘The hyperloop would create a compact region of cities on the five routes, all within a one hour, door-to-door travelling distance. This would equate to an additional GDP of 275 billion euro for the province, i.e. growth of +121 per cent.’
Jeroen Olthof, from the North Holland province’s local authority, said: ‘We know that people are willing to travel for a maximum of one hour to their work. With a high-speed hyperloop, you would be able to cover much greater distances in that time.
‘This sounds very promising. That is why we will engage in discussions with other authorities to progress this research.’
MailOnline reported in 2017 that Hardt had set up a full-scale testing centre to trial its hyperloop technology.
It consists of a 30 metre (98ft) tube with rails and the shuttle it has designed inside it.
The hyperloop concept was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes
MailOnline reported in 2017 that Hardt had set up a full-scale testing centre to trial its hyperloop technology. Pictured is the testing tube
The hyperloop concept was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes – half the time it takes a plane.
Hardt grew out of the competition team from the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft) that beat teams from MIT and the Technical University of Munich to win the all-around design and construction award for hyperloop from Musk’s SpaceX company.
Speaking at the time, Hardt co-founder Tim Houter said: ‘People were dreaming already of transporting humans and cargo (in hyperloops) from the 1860s, so the concept is not that new.
‘But when Elon Musk proposed it as a transportation system between San Francisco and Los Angeles it got a huge boost in renewed interest.’
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