Skip to main content

Russia wants to crisscross its country with its own Hyperloop-like tracks

Evidently inspired by Elon Musk’s plans for a revolutionary transportation system, Russia has said it’s currently examining the viability of a long-term project that could see Hyperloop-like technology connect all four corners of the massive country.

Anatolyi Zaitsev, an official from the St. Petersburg State Transport University, said recently that the initial plan could see Moscow connected with major sea ports on the Baltic. Following that, a track could be constructed to connect the capital with St. Petersburg, about 380 miles (610 km) away.

Recommended Videos

Russian engineers are currently in the laboratory developing the technology, business news site RBC reported. Global economic development company Gordon Atlantic is listed as an investor, with more being sought.

Last month Russian news agency TASS reported transport minister Maxim Sokolov as saying the country “is ready as no other country” to implement the project. However, no timeline has yet been given on possible construction of the high-speed system.

Russia’s rail operator is already examining the option of using Hyperloop technology for freight movement, TASS reported, noting that specialists from the operator have “formed a working group with Hyperloop One to study this technology.” However, it seems Russia would be developing its system independent of existing operations in the U.S., at least at this stage.

Elon Musk’s big idea

The whole Hyperloop idea was cooked up about four years ago by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The system plans to use propulsion technology to push passenger-filled pods through tubes at speeds of up to 750 mph.

Hyperloop One is one of two private U.S. companies currently developing and testing Hyperloop technology, the other being Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT).

Work on the project is gathering pace in the U.S. Last month Hyperloop One successfully carried out its first public “propulsion open-air test” in North Las Vegas, offering those outside the project their first proper look at the company’s electromagnetic propulsion system. HTT, in contrast, is working on a propulsion technology using passive magnetic levitation.

Initially, the ambitious plan focused on connecting LA with San Francisco, with a Hyperloop journey forecast to take a mere 35 minutes, significantly quicker than the six hours or so it’d take by road. But time-consuming regulatory processes in the U.S. have led Hyperloop One to also consider either Europe or Singapore for its debut operational system, while HTT has shown interest in Asia and the Middle East. Development and testing, meanwhile, is set to continue in the U.S.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
ChatGPT’s awesome Deep Research gets a light version and goes free for all
Deep Research option for ChatGPT.

There’s a lot of AI hype floating around, and it seems every brand wants to cram it into their products. But there are a few remarkably useful tools, as well, though they are pretty expensive. ChatGPT’s Deep Research is one such feature, and it seems OpenAI is finally feeling a bit generous about it. 

The company has created a lightweight version of Deep Research that is powered by its new o4-mini language model. OpenAI says this variant is “more cost-efficient while preserving high quality.” More importantly, it is available to use for free without any subscription caveat. 

Read more
Star Wars legend Ian McDiarmid gets questions about the Emperor’s sex life
Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

This weekend, the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary re-release had a much stronger performance than expected with $25 million and a second-place finish behind Sinners. Revenge of the Sith was the culmination of plans by Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) that led to the fall of the Jedi and his own ascension to emperor. Because McDiarmid's Emperor died in his first appearance -- 1983's Return of the Jedi -- Revenge of the Sith was supposed to be his live-action swan song. However, Palpatine's return in Star Wars: Episode IX -- The Rise of Skywalker left McDiarmid being asked questions about his character's comeback, particularly about his sex life and how he could have a granddaughter.

While speaking with Variety, McDiarmid noted that fans have asked him "slightly embarrassing questions" about Palpatine including "'Does this evil monster ever have sex?'"

Read more
Waymo and Toyota explore personally owned self-driving cars
Front three quarter view of the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.

Waymo and Toyota have announced they’re exploring a strategic collaboration—and one of the most exciting possibilities on the table is bringing fully-automated driving technology to personally owned vehicles.
Alphabet-owned Waymo has made its name with its robotaxi service, the only one currently operating in the U.S. Its vehicles, including Jaguars and Hyundai Ioniq 5s, have logged tens of millions of autonomous miles on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin.
But shifting to personally owned self-driving cars is a much more complex challenge.
While safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has so far taken a cautious approach to the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles. General Motors-backed Cruise robotaxi was forced to suspend operations in 2023 following a fatal collision.
While the partnership with Toyota is still in the early stages, Waymo says it will initially study how to merge its autonomous systems with the Japanese automaker’s consumer vehicle platforms.
In a recent call with analysts, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai signaled that Waymo is seriously considering expanding beyond ride-hailing fleets and into personal ownership. While nothing is confirmed, the partnership with Toyota adds credibility—and manufacturing muscle—to that vision.
Toyota brings decades of safety innovation to the table, including its widely adopted Toyota Safety Sense technology. Through its software division, Woven by Toyota, the company is also pushing into next-generation vehicle platforms. With Waymo, Toyota is now also looking at how automation can evolve beyond assisted driving and into full autonomy for individual drivers.
This move also turns up the heat on Tesla, which has long promised fully self-driving vehicles for consumers. While Tesla continues to refine its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, it remains supervised and hasn’t yet delivered on full autonomy. CEO Elon Musk is promising to launch some of its first robotaxis in Austin in June.
When it comes to self-driving cars, Waymo and Tesla are taking very different roads. Tesla aims to deliver affordability and scale with its camera, AI-based software. Waymo, by contrast, uses a more expensive technology relying on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar and lidar (a laser-light radar), that regulators have been quicker to trust.

Read more