A hyperloop in Missouri? New study says it's feasible

Is a hyperloop in the United States feasible? Skeptics doubt that the futuristic transportation system may become a reality, but a new study supported by Virgin Hyperloop One is discovering many possible benefits of a high-speed link between St. Louis and Kansas City.

A coalition of Missouri business leaders and government agencies has partnered with the Los Angeles-based company a year ago to launch a feasibility study of a hyperloop in their State. Published today, the study examined the location of the high-speed transportation system (along I-70 corridor), the number of passengers it will attract (6,000 during peak hours) and savings by allowing commuters to use the high-speed line to travel. transit system ($ 410 million per year).

But one important thing in the report is missing: how much would it cost to build a hyperloop in Missouri?

When Elon Musk designed the hyperloop in 2013, he estimated that a commute from Los Angeles to San Francisco would cost about $ 6 billion, or $ 11.5 million per mile. Revealed documents from 2016 show that Virgin Hyperloop One – at the time Hyperperlo One – estimated that the cost of a potential 107 km project in the Bay Area would be between 9 and 13 billion dollars between $ 84 and $ 121 million per mile. Since then, the company has become mistress of costs per mile.

These projections have been left out of the Missouri report as there are still many uncertainties. For example, local leaders would need to know where to build hyperloop stations, or "portals," within cities, and how to connect it to regional transportation hubs, said Ryan Kelly, marketing and communications manager at Virgin Hyperloop One.

"Depending on where our coalition stands on where these [portals] should be and demand, making sure we are in a place where people can come to the station, will really affect the costs, "Kelly said.

St. Louis to Kansas City is a 248-mile road that takes about three hours and 40 minutes by car or about 55 minutes by plane (not counting the time spent getting to the airport, security lines, etc.) . Virgin Hyperloop One indicates that the trip would only take 31 minutes with its aerodynamic pod system traversing nearly airless tubes at speeds of up to 700 km / h. It depends on building hundreds of miles of tubes on pylons along a highway like I-70, which the study identifies as the ideal location.

"In the United States, I-70 is one of the strongest corridors we've seen," Kelly said. "Not only do you have the right of way, but it is relatively straight and flat, which is perfect for the first hyperloop system."

The study, conducted by engineering firms Black and Veatch, revealed that the time savings of a hyperloop in Missouri would rise to $ 410 million annually. And reducing the number of road accidents along the I-70 could put $ 91 million back into people's pockets every year.

But without cost estimates, the study is a little more than the glossy marketing tool that Virgin Hyperloop One can brandish by unveiling its 700 km / h vision to Missouri leaders. The company said it will rely on its coalition of supporters to complete the project. And to be sure, government agencies love the idea of ​​cost savings and economic recovery, which the report suggests the hyperlop could bring to the state.

The report states that the cost of the linear infrastructure of a hyperloop would be 40% lower than that of the high-speed train around the world. The study's authors examined high-speed rail projects in the United States and around the world in order to make that decision. The high-speed train in California is expected to cost $ 77 billion, up 20% from two years ago. But that still does not tell us much about the costs of the St. Louis-Kansas City hyperloop.

Whatever the final price, Virgin Hyperloop One wants to share it between public and private entities. "Our private partners want to make sure that we are economically viable and that we are not a hollow infrastructure project that will not pay for anything," said Kelly. "Local governments want to see that too."

Kelly said that 2017 only consisted of proving the technology of the hyperloop. The company has built a 500-meter test track in the desert outside Las Vegas. There, he did several high-speed tests last year, the most recent of which consisted of moving his carbon fiber pod prototype into an almost airless tube at a maximum speed of 240 mph. h. The original Musk concept provided speeds of up to 760 mph.

Virgin Hyperloop One hopes to have a first commercial track in India in 2019. The company also hopes to conduct a feasibility study in Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom has withdrawn the project in retaliation for the criticism made by the CEO of Virgin Group, Richard Branson, to the disappearance and alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.