Europe’s longest Hyperloop test line opening has once again sparked hopes for a future that combines maglev and vacuum tube transportation technologies.
Operators believe that this facility will demonstrate the feasibility of Hyperloop, paving the way for a high-speed tube network spanning 6,200 miles (10,000km) across the continent by 2050.
Currently, the testbed at the European Hyperloop Center in Veendam is a 420-meter-long bifurcated white pipe running alongside a track and road, not yet transporting people in the Netherlands.
The test pipe, constructed from 34 connected 2.5-meter-wide prefabricated steel cylinders, partially funded by the EU, falls short of the envisioned two-mile track for 2020 due to speed limitations. The goal is to achieve the required 620 mph (1,000 km/h) in the future.
Test track at the European Hyperloop Center in Veendam. Photo: Hollandse Hoogte/Rex/Shutterstock
The Vandeem pipe’s fork will be instrumental in testing “lane switching” during high-speed vehicle course changes, with initial tests conducted by Hard Hyperloop in the Netherlands.
The center’s director, Sacha Lam, hailed this development as a pivotal moment, envisioning a pan-European network with infrastructure branching to various destinations like Paris and Berlin.
The concept of the Hyperloop was introduced by Elon Musk in 2013, proposing a line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This innovative transportation method could revolutionize travel speed and efficiency.
Despite past setbacks, such as Hyperloop One’s bankruptcy, proponents like Sacha Lam see a bright future where a European Hyperloop network could become a reality within decades, offering a cleaner, quieter, and faster mode of transportation.
This innovative technology could help Europe catch up with pioneering developments in China, where a “low-vacuum pipeline magnetic levitation technology” test track was unveiled in 2022.
Hyperloop One, the high-speed rail startup backed by Elon Musk whose plans were derailed by project delays and bizarre sexual harassment allegations against some executives and backers, plans to shut down.
The company has ordered its remaining employees, about 100, down from 200 at the beginning of this year, to oversee the sale of assets before their employment ends on Dec. 31, according to reports. bloomberg.
Hyperloop, which has raised more than $450 million since its founding in 2014, has gained public attention with its promise to modernize transportation technology with trains that travel at airplane-like speeds through major U.S. cities, according to Pitchbook. Collected.
The company is based in Las Vegas, where it has a small test track to develop a “vacuum tube” transportation system in which pods travel at 1,260 miles per hour.
In 2019, the company announced that Hyperloop technology could transport passengers from New York City to Washington, D.C., in just 30 minutes. By contrast, Acela trains typically take three and a half hours to travel between the two hubs.
Hyperloop One, the Richard Branson-backed ultra-high-speed train startup, is shutting down and selling assets after abandoning its “vacuum tube” transportation system in which pods travel at 1,260 miles per hour. James Messerschmitt
At the time, the company touted a deal in the works to install a hyperloop system between Mumbai and Pune in India, but that ambitious plan was abandoned last year.
The startup’s remaining intellectual property will now be transferred to DP World, which will also serve as title partner for the DP World Tour, part of a new golf entity between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf.
It’s unclear whether the shell company deal was an attempt to take Hyperloop public, with the futuristic company having acquired the backing of a Shaquille O’Neal-backed special purpose acquisition company just a few months ago. I was trying that.
Hyperloop has struggled to make any progress for years, despite backing from Richard Branson (who briefly led the company to adopt the name Virgin Hyperloop One) and Elon Musk. Not yet.
According to Bloomberg, in the early days of Hyperloop, co-founder Brogan Bambrogan would arrive at work to find a rope tied to a chair.
And in 2017, co-executive chairman Shervin Pishevar came under fire after at least six allegations of sexual harassment and assault by women, including rape at a luxury London hotel, all of which he claimed I’m denying it.
Pishevar’s brother, Afshin Pishevar, was the one who left the rope that Bambrogan found on his office chair. Mr. Bambrogan was visiting from his home in Washington to join the company as general counsel, and he overstayed his welcome as a guest. bloomberg report.
Hyperloop has been having problems for years. In 2017, co-executive chairman Shervin Pishevar resigned amid six allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Getty Images
Branson took the job in 2017 after Shervin Pishevar resigned from the company to recuse himself from the charges, shortly after his own sexual misconduct allegations became questionable.
Singer Antonia Ienae claims the British millionaire stuck his face between her breasts and “motorboated” her while she was attending a party on Necker Island in the Caribbean in 2010. did.
“We were by the bar and he was saying goodbye to everyone. He came up to me and shoved his face into my chest,” she told the London Sun at the time. Ta. “He said, ‘Brrrrrrrr,’ and walked away. It was surreal and completely out of the blue.”
According to Bloomberg, in the early days of Hyperloop, co-founder Brogan Bambrogan (left, with Sharvin Pishevar) arrived at work to find a rope tied to his chair. AFP (via Getty Images)
Jenna also claimed that her shaggy-haired boss at Virgin begged her to go topless at a party, according to The Sun, which is owned by the Post’s parent company News Corp.
A year after allegations of sexual misconduct, Russian billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov, one of Hyperloop’s directors, has been arrested in Moscow on charges of fraud and embezzlement unrelated to his work with Hyperloop, according to Bloomberg. was arrested.
At the time, Magomedov’s lawyer said he was appealing his arrest.
The Hyperloop had grand plans to transport passengers from New York City to Washington, D.C., in just 30 minutes instead of the usual 3 hours and 30 minutes. Ali Haider/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockHyperloop originally promised a 300-mile subway system connecting Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. AFP (via Getty Images)
Dubai-based logistics company DP World has been backing Hyperloop since 2016 and orchestrated Hyperloop’s merger with a shell company in April, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.
At the time, the value of most types of stock was valued at zero, making the shell company’s shareholders the sole owners of Hyperloop, the media reported.
The Post has reached out to Hyperloop and DP World for comment.
O’Neal’s deal with Forest Road Acquisition Corp. II would have listed Hyperloop on the New York Stock Exchange at a valuation of $600 million, but the deal fell through and tied it to Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Serious doubts arose as to whether a 300-mile freight system would become a reality. It was a realistic goal.
One of the longest-running hyperloop startups is reportedly closing its doors. Hyperloop One, once backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, will cease operations on December 31st. According to Bloomberg News.
It’s the latest stumble in the tech industry’s attempt to realize an idea that Elon Musk first laid out in a white paper in 2013. And it comes after Hyperloop One has raised and spent hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2014.
Hyperloop’s original pitch sounds like a zero-interest-rate fever dream: building long vacuum-sealed tubes to transport people and goods at lightning speeds. But aside from a few tech demos and test tracks, the idea has yet to come to fruition.
Hyperloop One itself has undergone multiple mutations, including: ugly legal battle Among the co-founders. After Branson invested in 2017, the company was renamed Virgin Hyperloop One. But after Mr. Branson criticized Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in 2018, the kingdom canceled planned projects with the company and the billionaire resigned as chairman.
Dubai port operator DP World took majority control of the startup and shifted its focus to cargo operations in early 2022, cutting half of its staff at the time and dropping its Virgin title. According to a report from Bloomberg, DP World will sell its Hyperloop One intellectual property, while its remaining hard assets, including a test track outside Las Vegas and other machinery, will be sold.
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