Hyperloop One is building a functional test system in the USA’s Nevada desert and is aiming to be the first company in the world to deliver a working Hyperloop. Hyperloop is a new form of high-speed transport originally proposed by SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. It would use a network of low-pressure tubes and air-cushioned pods travelling at speeds of up to 760 miles per hour.
CEO Rob Lloyd has unveiled a bird’s-eye view of construction is progressing at the development site, known as DevLoop. The 500m-long DevLoop, which has a diameter of 3.3m, is located 30 minutes from Las Vegas in the Nevada desert.
Speaking at the Middle East Rail conference, Lloyd shared the company’s vision for how Hyperloop One could transform the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with a faster, more efficient and cleaner system of mobility. “While technology is revolutionizing many facets of our lives, we have not seen a radical change in transportation since the Wright brothers introduced air travel over 100 years ago,” said Lloyd. “Tying together the Middle East region would produce greater virtual density, without congestion and pollution, spurring innovation, productivity, job growth and more powerful sharing of knowledge, labour and investment. Building a Hyperloop would vastly impact the economy and make any major city in the GCC accessible within one hour.”
Josh Giegel, president of engineering and co-founder of Hyperloop One, said: “Our team of more than 150 engineers, technicians and fabricators have been transforming what was, just over five months ago, a barren stretch of desert, into a hive of activity and now home to the world's first full-scale Hyperloop test site. We have come so far in such a short space of time, and our team of over 240 employees are working tirelessly to eliminate the barriers of distance and time and reinvent transportation.”
The company expects to perform a public trial in the first half of this year. The DevLoop trial will follow Hyperloop One’s first public test of a prototype propulsion system, which took place in the same area less in May 2016.
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