Virgin Hyperloop has released a video (above) showing the expected experience for future passengers traveling on its ultra-high-speed transportation system.
The presentation comes two months after Virgin Hyperloop’s first-ever passenger test of a hyperloop vehicle that saw two company employees take a ride along a 500-meter track (Digital Trends recently spoke to one of them).
The new concept video takes you through all the stages of a hyperloop journey, from arriving at the portal to boarding the pod. The beautifully designed stations welcome the passengers who make their way to their designated Hyperloop pod. At departure time, six pods leave six separate bays at the same time, coming together in the main vacuum tube to form a convoy that whizzes toward its destination city at speeds of up to 760 mph (1,223 kph).
The video shows passengers seated in bright, roomy pods featuring wireless charging pads and digital displays showing the convoy’s speed and remaining journey time.
Each pod will be able to carry up to 28 passengers, though Virgin says its machine intelligence software will allow close proximity between pods and convoys, enabling the transportation of “thousands of passengers per hour” along a route.
Virgin Hyperloop — known as Hyperloop One until Virgin boss Richard Branson invested in the project in 2017 — says it’s keen for its transportation system to be accessible to the masses rather than just moneyed folks. While ticket prices will vary depending on the route, the company suggests that hyperloop fares could be more similar to the cost of driving than flying.
“It’s simple. If it’s not affordable, people won’t use it,” said Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop. “Daily high-speed transport is currently not feasible for most people, but we want to change that notion. Imagine being able to commute between cities that are currently hours apart in minutes — and the endless possibilities that opens up.”
Of course, there is still much work to be done before any of us will be stepping onto a Virgin Hyperloop pod, with the company aiming to launch its first commercial service some time in 2030.
The hyperloop transportation system in its current form is the brainchild of Elon Musk, who proposed the idea in 2012. The chief of both SpaceX and Tesla later described the system as a “cross between a Concorde and a railgun and an air hockey table.”
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