Elon Musk Says He Has Approval to Build 29-Minute Hyperloop from NY to DC

Megalith

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While the approval is merely verbal at this point, this could be a genuine step toward the Hyperloop becoming reality: the plan is to build an underground Hyperloop between New York and Washington, which would also stop at Philadelphia and Baltimore. One could get from New York to DC in just 29 minutes.

Recently, Musk’s Boring Company completed the first segment of the Hyperloop system in Los Angeles, marking a major milestone in the project’s development. This may be a partial reason why the project is now gaining traction in other states. The Hyperloop seems to already be disrupting the transportation industry due to the incredibly short journey times, positive environmental consequences, and comparatively low cost of the project. As long as governmental support continues, this can only be a good thing.
 
"Musk also did not reveal who the permission came from or give any details concerning when the project will start and finish"

Lets see. He'd need permission from at least NY, NJ, DE, VA and DC unless he is going under the ocean in a very twisty route.

My guess is he got a meaningless verbal OK from someone in Manhattan.
 
Give all the panhandlers in DC access to a larger market, sweeet

It's been many years since I've been to DC so maybe it changed
 
This seems to be very premature. Basically a nonstory. They haven't even but a whole compartment in their test hyperloop yet. Just sleds.

Drilling huge holes underneath metropolitan area is rife with delays and unpredictable problems. Just look at the bike that's being cut under Seattle. And that's just for a street. After fully testing the loop they've got above ground they may find that need to construct their tunnel differently.

Either way, Elon musk often uses the press just to stir up investors and gauge public interest. I expect this is just to build public support.
 
I sincerely hope this works and gets spread across the country rapidly. There is nothing I want more than the airline industry to get a reality check.

They'll build them.. maybe. in places where commuter rail is viable. Then effectively kill off passenger trains.

it would not surprise me if intentional in the hopes it would impede rail freight, as the guy doing it seems to want to make a buck of of autonomous vehicles.
 
Trump; wants his fast track between his hotel and the white house.
I predict the hyperloop following that going between DC and Palm Beach, FLA (Mar-a-Lago)
 
Every time I read up on this, all I can think of is Futurama if something happens with them on the receiving end.

 
They'll build them.. maybe. in places where commuter rail is viable. Then effectively kill off passenger trains.

it would not surprise me if intentional in the hopes it would impede rail freight, as the guy doing it seems to want to make a buck of of autonomous vehicles.

Passenger rail in the US is such a small market I don't see much impact there. Freight, that's possible for sure but I see bigger impacts to truckers than rail. Either way, time for someone to change a stagnant system getting more expensive while not getting better/faster.
 
Ah that crazy Elon Musk. What will he think of next? Ohh I know, use the dragon rockets inside the tunnels! NY to LA in 90 seconds! WHOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHH
 
Passenger rail in the US is such a small market I don't see much impact there. Freight, that's possible for sure but I see bigger impacts to truckers than rail. Either way, time for someone to change a stagnant system getting more expensive while not getting better/faster.

Passenger rail is a small market, because Amtrak is worthless. Slow trains, share lines with freight, etc.
It takes over 30 hours to get from Southern California to Washington State.
I could get there faster by driving for 8 hours, stopping at a hotel for 12 hours, and then driving another 8 hours.

This isn't going to replace cross country travel, but for shorter distances (like New York to DC), this would be much faster than travel by plane.
I'd be in if they could keep the TSA out of it.

Meanwhile, out here in California we are wasting billions on a slow train to nowhere, that nobody will ever use.
 
"Musk also did not reveal who the permission came from or give any details concerning when the project will start and finish"

Lets see. He'd need permission from at least NY, NJ, DE, VA and DC unless he is going under the ocean in a very twisty route.

My guess is he got a meaningless verbal OK from someone in Manhattan.


The janitor at the Empire State Building to be exact.
 
I hope to see hyperloops. Travel is the US sucks. You fly or drive. Really no other options.
I believe the interstates were started during Eisenhower's administration. Looks what that did to our country as far as commerce and transportation. Would this not have a similar effect? (It would crush the airlines though).
 
Yeah sure Musk got approval... BUT ONLY MUSK! They point was to tell Musk put up the dollars or shut up about all your pipe dreams (do ya see that pun! :D)
 
I can't see it happening, but I'd be happy if it does get built (assuming it works). We need faster, better transit and mass-transit is one good way to reduce pressure on roads.
 
Well, you can do it, but not if you just stop in Philly and Baltimore. You'd need to add more stops. Convenience, donchaknow. So, drop in about 8 stops around Manhattan, 2 near Long Island, 1 at Staten Island, about 6 from northern New Jersey on down to a little past Newark, 4 stops around North Philly, 3 in central, and 3 more in South Philly. Don't forget about some stops near Baltimore. Gotta have about 5 (Inner Harbor would scream if they got left out). As the hyped-up loop thingie approaches DC, you'd need plenty of stops to service the various government centers: Foggy Bottom, Pentagon, Capitol, etc., and of course the various locations OUTSIDE the 495 loop (who the hell would waste time in rush hour bumper to bumper hell just to get on a train???). About 8.

You'd need these stops to make it economically viable and attractive/convenient to riders. Oh, since it's only 29 minutes, you don't =need= seats for everyone. That could be an upcharge. Straphangers would be standard. (Don't forget concession sales! "Hyper Coke: It's faster".)

So, some quick math: about 40 stops. No problem. Drop some sinkholes down to the borehole and stick an escalator or two there. I'd say not more than 5-6 minutes per stop. Oh, and watch the acceleration/deceleration rates, too. Oh, and the Hyperloop Authority for Safe Speedy Lawful Exigencies (HASSLE) would probably want to keep speeds approaching/departing the stations to around 20mph. (Worker safety, babies in strollers rolling onto the tracks, collision avoidance, etc.) But, we could still advertise "29 minute train ride", because stops don't count as rides, right?

And stick some toll collections on I-95 to pay for it. (On top the ones currently there.) About $100 to $250 Billion needs to be raised...for the demo tunnels (built in Nevada...because what if they collapse?). That'd be tolls of about $2/car/mile.

Great plan.
 
Elon Musk has nothing to do with Hyperloop, the company.


Obviously we all know why he would say something like that, because he watches Iron Man too much. But are all the clickbait media stories ignoring this very important fact. Elon can't build a hyperloop anywhere, as he gave the name away to a separate, entity.
 
Remember Boston's "Big Dig?" Like 8 years longer than planned, billions over budget, sea water flowing in, light fixtures falling everywhere, etc. I think the Hyperloop would be much, much worse. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it happen, and work properly, but I thing it has all the hallmarks of a serious fiasco.
 
Remember Boston's "Big Dig?" Like 8 years longer than planned, billions over budget, sea water flowing in, light fixtures falling everywhere, etc. I think the Hyperloop would be much, much worse. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it happen, and work properly, but I thing it has all the hallmarks of a serious fiasco.

Well Elon's boring company is a different project from hyperloop. It will be above the streets apparently.
 
Passenger rail is a small market, because Amtrak is worthless. Slow trains, share lines with freight, etc.
It takes over 30 hours to get from Southern California to Washington State.
I could get there faster by driving for 8 hours, stopping at a hotel for 12 hours, and then driving another 8 hours.
The example you want to use is driving 16 hours and only beating the train by 2 hours?
 
Right now this is useless sci-fi dreaming. Technology has a long way to go before something like this can be realized safely and cheaply enough to be profitable. Colonizing Mars is less pie-in-the-sky than this.
 
LOL.. the hyper loop.

the operational issues alone make this a non event
 
Right now this is useless sci-fi dreaming. Technology has a long way to go before something like this can be realized safely and cheaply enough to be profitable. Colonizing Mars is less pie-in-the-sky than this.
Actually, the hyperloop concept makes more sense on Mars. That's probably why he's developing the technology in the first place. With Musk, everything is about Mars.
 


Although there's some notable gripes (time to pump down), he's using tanker trailers as an example of a vacuum failure. Those trailers are designed to hold pressure or simple liquid, they are not designed to hold a vacuum, thus they're much thinner walled (using outside rings for strength). You can tell with the silver one that the tank itself broke away from the structural rings.

The struts he mentions for holding the shape of the Hyperloop tube are only there for transportation, so that the crane/trailer doesn't damage it. They're not structural, the tube isn't going to deform without them. In the Myth busters example, they failed and failed and failed until they dropped a massive weight on the tank.

As for the pump down times, these are prototypes and lack a lot of the final engineering. I can imagine they might work in an air lock at the station so the transportation tube stays vacuumed and only the portion holding the pods would have to be pulled down.
 
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