Super fast travel Hyperloop transport system

[bben46]

Musk's Spacex and Tesla engineers have been working on this proposal for a while and have most (Not all by a long shot) of the engineering hurdles worked out already.

 

But as I already said, this will likely be killed not because of any engineering shortfall, but because of politics. Yes, it could be built - but it steps on too many political toes and reaches into too many political pocketbooks ( the politicians will fight it because they won't be able to make as much money from kickbacks)

 

@Vagrant: The structure will not be built on the existing roadway. It will use the existing road right of way - the pilings will be constructed - for the most part on the median strip and the tubes will be around 40 feet up. They will be dug in and reinforced - If you read the proposal, it tells how the pilings will deal with earthquake stress - in exactly the same way as the high rise buildings that are now being built in the region.

 

@HeyYou - the cost is not artificially reduced by using existing roadways. That is as compared to having to pay for new right of way (Very expensive) - explained in the proposal - and that particular interstate is mostly straight for long stretches. That's why they selected that particular route. Many of the not quite straight sections are close enough that he will still be able to use existing right of way - Of course not all of it will be on the already paid for right of way, but the parts that are not will also not require the 200 to 400 foot wide continuous strip of an interstate highway or railway right of way either - just space for a pylon every so often - with the space under the dual tube being available for other use - such as already existing agriculture or even housing once it is deemed safe enough. (How loud will these things be anyway?) As for overpasses - the proposal shows longer and shorter pylons - to go up and over or down and under. For those sections that are not quite as straight, the pods will slow some to reduce any added g forces.

 

For those who think an earthquake will cause pods to be spit out one after another - it's just not going to happen - once the seal is broken the tube will rapidly loose its partial vacuum and any pods will rapidly decelerate to a stop against the increasing air pressure. Another possibility for braking would be to use the already known internal battery to power a coil making the pod into an electromagnet working against the metal of the tube to act as a brake. - and the people can be disembarked through emergency doors spaced along the tube. How far apart not yet specified. This is something I would like to see clarified as the pics of the proposed pods didn't show any way to get from the inside to the outside of the pod while it is inside of a tube. There will need to be an escape hatch either in the front or back of each pod.

 

As for windows - I doubt it as they would add too much to the cost of the tube and be a weak spot for a potential failure. Maybe in a few years they will be able to make the entire tube out of gorilla glass - if they can get the cost below that of a steel tube. My biggest concern is I didn't see any space in the pods for a restroom. :pinch: