(ORDO NEWS) — Canadian startup TransPod plans to revolutionize ground transportation by launching maglev trains through vacuum tubes at tremendous speeds.
This is a very ambitious – and extremely expensive – concept that has made a lot of noise in recent weeks .
And it seems like we’ve seen this before… Remember Hyperloop?
Hyperloop is a vacuum train project popularized by Elon Musk back in 2013.
But despite millions of dollars of investment, Hyperloop may yet have to reach any significant level – and we can not help but wonder if the TransPod will not suffer the same fate.
According to the company , its FluxJet transport will be a “train-aircraft hybrid” that will use only electricity to propel itself.
Each FluxJet capsule will be just over 24 meters long and will be able to accommodate up to 54 passengers.
In cities, the train will operate somewhat like a maglev monorail, but its potential will be unlocked by moving through vacuum tubes, which is consistent with the Hyperloop concept.
TransPod promises “a technological leap in contactless power transmission” as well as the use of “a new field of physics called veillance flux” – the meaning of which the company has yet to clarify – that will allow it to accelerate its train to 1000 kilometers per hour.
This is significantly faster than any high-speed train or even commercial aircraft. In addition, TransPod promises that FluxJet passenger tickets will be 44% cheaper than plane tickets. If you believe the statements of company representatives, then it is already developing FluxJet.
So far, all we’ve seen is a heavily scaled-down vacuum train prototype that TransPod showed off at its July event in Toronto, Canada – and, of course, some impressive cutscenes.
Despite generous funding of around half a billion dollars from British investors Broughton Capital Group and Chinese state-owned China-East Resources Import & Export Co, TransPod still has a long way to go before the first vacuum train goes live.
The company is currently planning to build a vacuum “pipe” connecting the 322-kilometer stretch between the Canadian cities of Edmonton and Calgary, but it remains to be seen if it will ever be able to begin construction, which, according to CNBC , will cost $18 billion.
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