Virgin Hyperloop One, the project based on futuristic high-speed travel has conducted their third phase test on December 15 in a desert outside of Las Vegas, where the magnetically levitating pod traveled at a speed 240 mph (387 km/h) through a nearly airless tube.
The Company is aiming to reach a speed goal of 670 mph (1000 km/hr) by 2021, and this successful completion of the third phase test indicates that Virgin Hyperloop One is heading towards the right direction.
Virgin Hyperloop One: Travel like a lightning
Through this project, Virgin Hyperloop One aims to transport people to distant locations in a very short period of time. The Company has now reportedly formulated four proposed routes in the US, and two each in the United Kingdom and India. If this project becomes a reality, then it will surely redefine the traveling experience of people all across the world, and traveling by air may also face a setback.
In the second phase of the test, the Hyperloop touched a speed of 192 miles per hour, and the third test has now shown a significant improvement. Even though the Hyperloop has succeeded to reach a speed of 240 mph, it is way less than their ultimate target of 670 mph. According to Virgin Hyperloop One, an additional 2 kilometers of the track is needed to reach that magical velocity. As of now, the maximum achievable speed in the current 1,620-foot test track is 250 mph.
Interestingly, China's new Fuxing trains are capable of traveling at speeds of 350 kilometers per hour.
Hyperloop One: Elon Musk's brainchild
It was in 2013 that Tesla's Elon Musk first proposed the idea of Hyperloop system which connects distant cities in a quick time. Even though he released all his plans for free, he is no way associated with Hyperloop One. Virgin joined Hyperloop One on last October, and as a result, Richard Branson was named as non-executive chairman.
"I am excited by the latest developments at Virgin Hyperloop One and delighted to be its new Chairman. The recent investment by our partners Caspian Venture Capital and DP World sets up the company to pursue opportunities in key markets in the Middle East, Europe, and Russia as it develops game-changing and innovative passenger and cargo ground transport systems," said Richard Branson, Daily Mail reports.
Rob Lloyd, the CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One said that most of the world leaders are very much willing to embrace hyperloop to address critical infrastructure challenges.
