The promise of hyperloop

Despite hurdles, it makes sense to persist

Imagine a long sealed tube with almost all the air pumped out. There are electronic magnets embedded inside the tube, creating a strong field. An aerodynamic pod is introduced into the tube. The pod levitates within the magnetic field and it faces little friction due to the vacuum. The pod is driven by an electric linear motor. Due to near-zero friction, the pod could zip along at speeds of 1,200 kmph or more. What is more, the pod could be moved with very little energy being expended. Such a system could carry both passengers and cargo at great speeds. This is a hyperloop system, an ingenious transportation option dreamt up by Elon Musk.

 
It may sound like science fiction, and that is what it was until 2013 when Musk unveiled the concept in a white paper with a few back of the envelope calculations. There is now a pilot project with a 1,600 metre tube built in California where experimental pods can make test runs. This weekend, many companies, including one from India, is participating in a competition to test new pod designs. The emphasis will be on speed and the ability to brake within short distances but obviously, the designs will have to be robust enough to levitate and run at such high speeds. The concept works in theory and some experimental test runs have already delivered proof of concept. Many companies are involved in the development of this new transport technology and it will certainly result in new insights into maglev operations and into the use of linear electric motors and material science.

 
But there is a massive difference between experimental demonstrations and actually building vacuum tubes that are thousands of kilometres long and making such operations commercially viable. Quite apart from the energy required to propel pods at high speeds, simply maintaining vacuum will be a tough task. In practical terms, any such tunnel will also involve multiple twists and turns and sections with differing heights. Making the propulsion system work across such a layout would be more challenging than doing a short straight run in controlled conditions. Building in safety mechanisms to deal with possible systems failure, too, would be a multi-dimensional problem.

 

Beyond that, there are potential legal issues with the right of way. Mr Musk’s paper envisaged such a system being built along the alignment of public highways to connect major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. That may be a possible solution but even so, the cost of construction could be $20 million per km or so. If it does work and can be used to connect high traffic sectors, hyperloop would revolutionise the way people live and travel. Most commuters would be happy enough to live within 30 minutes commute of work. That could be 600 km from office on the alignment of a hyperloop system. Urban planning would then be redefined in ways that are scarcely conceivable. Similarly, if goods could be transported at such speeds, the value chains of industrial production would be transformed.

 
All this is still up in the air, or rather in vacuum. It may well transpire that the concept is not commercially viable or that it only works under very specific conditions. However, it is still worth researching the multiple intractable problems that such a project presents. There will undoubtedly be huge insights developed during the R&D process. That may lead to spinoffs and positive unintended consequences in much the same way that space exploration led to huge advances in multiple fields.